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online pr

time to lean on pr & comms as budget pressures rise

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July 1, 2022

- Category : online pr

- Tags : accessibility, adventure, awards, Barbados

In times of economic downturn and crisis, brands traditionally invest more heavily in affordable PR & Comms to maintain visibility and customer engagement. Today we can’t escape the predictions of a gathering economic storm as reports released by the CBI show that the UK economy contracted by 0.3% in April 2022. Whilst many of us have seen off previous recessions and more recently the impact of Covid, then this next economic cloud is likely to soak us in a lot more misery.

So, with purse strings tightening everywhere, here are some thoughts on the areas we as PR & Comms experts advise you to prioritise to secure ongoing engagement:

    • Internal comms, to ensure the business voice is consistent, confident, and relevant in terms of differentiating products, promotions, and pricing. Your internal team must all buy-in and speak with one defined voice.

    • Relevant and sensitive client comms with your existing and loyal customer base to maintain and engage conversations. Good newsletter marketing with your regular customers is key, adapting the messaging and being sensitive around the broader market economy, perhaps developing appealing promotions, offers and incentives to encourage sustained loyalty.

    • Profiling of your people and their opinions. Sharing their passions, opinions, and successes (and sometimes failures) can reinforce the authenticity and values of your business. These are often colourful stories and easy to find, and many times an unsung hero can be celebrated in different ways across different channels.

    • Maintaining visibility through regular, targeted earned media and influencer work. Memorable, light-hearted creative content, sharing positive and uplifting stories often lands well in a dismal news cycle. Product gifting underpins much of this work, as does ‘bookable PR’, where an offer, promotion or a quirky headline can drive a sale or booking.

    • Partnership marketing can deliver affordable customer acquisition, grow sales, and increase awareness. We encourage clients to work with other like-minded brands, businesses, and influencers where there is shared benefit and synergy of purpose, narrative, or outcome. We don’t encourage lots of these, but a few strategic alliances can create a very powerful sales channel.

    • News, launches, and product reveals. Key here is to create these business moments with an eye on the broader climate. Excessive spending or flagrant flashing of cash doesn’t go down well and can be misconstrued and backfire. Creating plans that are sensitive and respectful to the broader climate and plan, and which you personally would feel comfortable defending in the face of criticism are important.

    • Creativity is king. If you invest anywhere then invest TIME in creating and thinking and talking as a team to your agencies. Some of the BEST work comes to the fore in times of crisis, when budgets are under pressure. The best ideas are usually not the most expensive.

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So why do we think PR & Comms is leaned on more when there is pressure on budgets? Creative PR & Comms can provide the most affordable means to develop and unleash big campaigns without a big price tag.

Traditionally, we all know that PR & Comms agencies are the unsung heroes, viewed by many as the poor relation to wealthier brand creative, digital, advertising and e-commerce agencies. And yet PR & Comms engages across the entire business. The touch points reach customers, employees, the board, shareholders, and investors.

As we all scrutinise budgets over the coming months, make sure to stop and think and ask your PR & Comms team how they can support you with effective, affordable comms to engage all your key audiences, both internally and externally. You don’t have to spend big bucks with big agencies!

Find out how we can help you and your business, get in touch!

Get in touch
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uncategorized_

the economy of trust and its critical importance to people & customers

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July 1, 2022

- Category : uncategorized_

- Tags : accessibility, adventure, awards, Barbados

This week, we were enormously honoured to have been invited to run a workshop for Amazon’s Launchpad, specifically for their exciting and hugely prized Sustainable Accelerator Project. With each of the twelve businesses we presented to selected from over one thousand applicants to win a prized place on the 12-week business accelerator programme, it was a fantastic opportunity – that’s not even including being based in the extremely groovy Shoreditch Amazon offices for a morning – and of course, an inspiring time for the team.


Running a workshop centring on Brand, Marketing, and PR & Comms, the engagement was positive, and the dialogue encouraging, making for a lively session which presented us with lots of opportunities to talk passionately about the importance of what we do for a living. We are champions of great consistent comms and work hard to prove daily to our clients that strategic PR can really pack a punch. PR & Comms done well and ‘married’ with all the other essential business elements in place is an incredibly powerful and affordable tool for young businesses, especially for those in the initial stages of their business life.

 

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Tracking back to the essentialism of great basic commercial priorities and the importance of only investing in PR & Comms if you really know what you need to get out of it commercially were factors that we continued to instil in our audience. As a result, conversations ranged from founder profiling, the formula for viral campaigns, and the risk associated with stunt-based PR. Amongst these topics, the simple matter of winning hearts and minds remained a key theme for these businesses that operated entirely in the sustainability space – where of course, the environment of greenwashing and overclaiming remains a massive crucial factor in creating awareness and engagement. It is essential for these brands to gain TRUST to gain loyalty and the chance of a repeat purchase. So, with trust paramount in the life of a new business, PR & Comms can be in fact a crucial part of your business.


Trust is central to all our lives right now, especially following this morning’s “Party Gate” showcasing front and centre that the nations’ patience and appetite to TRUST the country’s leadership – no matter what colour badge they wear – is at its lowest ebb ever. Not only this, but one of my personal favourite annual reports, The Edelman Trust Barometer, has also recently reported how TRUST has become such an important commodity despite being eroded from the old school institutions by the appalling behaviour of our leadership.


On a depressing note, the failure of leadership is transforming DISTRUST into the default position for us all with my 16-year-son frequently commenting when listening to our ‘elected leadership’ that “if that’s the best we can do, Mum, we really are all doomed!”. He has a point. However, as the optimist, spending two hours locked in a room with twelve young founders and their teams this week planted an incredible spirit of hope, reinforcing the important outlook of new businesses driving critical change. Talking to this group of young, passionate, and purposeful individuals was indeed a timely and incredibly privileged opportunity.

Interestingly, The Edelman Trust Barometer states that almost half of respondents believe that companies are not doing enough to address societal problems with leaders failing when it comes to hugely important global issues. Examples include climate change, economic inequality, and workforce reskilling. We do carry the power to make a difference and to join the growing movement for better business practices in all areas of our business. (Did we tell you, we are at the validation stage for our B Corp accreditation?)

Quoting Shakespeare, Stormzy says “Heavy is the head that wears the crown” and it’s true – with so many prominent issues to overcome, we look to businesses to drive change, setting new examples of success we all hunger for.

 

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I, for one, can attest to the enormous weight of responsibility that running a small independent business carries. Change is happening across so many areas of our ‘world’, and it is vital that we remain focused on the real priorities. We can’t do it all and so focusing on the small, tangible changes we can make each day remains a mantra of mine.

Back in the Amazon session, I laboured the importance of identifying key audiences and remaining consistent in that focus, the message and of course, its engagement. And ahead of that, without any shadow of a doubt, I shared that the priority for all businesses, regardless of size, should be one thing – its people.


With so much of the UK’s economy relying on the service industry, it’s a fact – people are central to this structure. Our people represent our voice, they are ambassadors to the outer world. As a result, keeping them close and engaged is the most important job for any leader today. However, understanding what they want, need and how to support them in their working lives and time under your leadership while delivering business targets is a constant challenge in today’s climate. The great resignation has hit us all, yet Edelman says much of this isn’t reflected in their report findings. In fact, only 11% of British employees say they have quit their job or taken a sabbatical in the last 2 years. With this, interestingly just 12% of those not furloughed or made unemployed by Covid-19 say that have started a new job in this period. So, go figure?


My personal belief remains that building TRUST ‘at home’ can permeate far beyond your business and into the mainstream. With trust in a leader or employer, good things can happen or at least can be easily achieved. Without it, it can be an uphill struggle and won’t work. Because of this, I stress that trust is a two-way thing and must be worked at and invested in to achieve. At Siren, our Covid-19 working lives and hybrid set-up made that challenging, in some areas more than others. Despite this, I am more than pleased that Team Siren will be moving to ‘gather’ more regularly in one space over the coming months. Thankfully, our team will be able to collaborate again, giggle uncontrollably together at something silly, and read the ‘extras’ in the face to face communication. Importantly, we will be able to create and engineer that trust again, being able to move freely to realise our ambition and potential.

 

And with that, I’ll end with a brilliant quote that I remind myself of daily –

 

People will forget what you did but they will never forget how you made them feel.

– Maya Angelou 

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siren team news

new opportunities at siren

By on

July 1, 2022

- Category : siren team news

- Tags : accessibility, adventure, awards, Barbados

We’ve done a bit of a reorganisation at Siren recently and out of change comes opportunity. We are now seeking people that are the best or those aspiring to become the best and looking to learn and benefit from developing their skills, experience, and talent by working with the exceptionally lovely and very talented team Siren Communications 😎

 

We are an established team that has navigated the last two years with great heart and success and are now positioned to grow further across several exciting specialisms including Food and Drink, Sustainability Lifestyle and Purpose-Led businesses. Whilst continuing to strengthen our growing Travel, Transport and Tourism portfolio.

Siren has started and supported the careers of an exceptional range of industry folk for the past 20 years and we are consistently referred to as the nicest people in the industry. (Is that good? We think so…)

As a result, we have a few roles available for talented and agency experienced people looking for their next early career steps and excited to join a team that is truly brilliant.

Our people packages are strong: we offer weekly training and development; monthly time ‘to put back or invest in you’ and above-average salaries, benefits, and rewards. We are family-friendly and a diverse bunch, spread across the UK from a variety of backgrounds. We are a good business with people, ethics and integrity ingrained in our founding values and never stand still for long.

 

We are currently working towards Investors in Diversity accreditation with National Centre for Diversity, and are signed up members of the UN Global Compact Agreement, Living Wage and Better Business Act. As well as a pending B Corp UK pending, this year we have supported Surfers Against Sewage, Routes and Choose Love to reflect the interests of our clients and team.

 

We work with some exciting and good businesses, delivering award-winning results for our clients daily.

If you have 1 – 2 years proven experience, maybe you’re perhaps looking to return to work after a period of absence, or are just interested in working with us –  we are truly, truly lovely, and crazily talented 😜

If you too are just like us, please get in touch with me at rachel.oconnor@sirencomms.com or helen.porter@sirencomms.com for more details.

Current Roles Available:


1️⃣ Consumer brands, food and travel – Client Lead
2️⃣ Consumer & B2B purpose and sustainable brands – Client Lead
3️⃣ Creative content, and digital campaigns – Digital Ninja / Client Lead and Executive

We are also seeking account assistants for fixed work experience for 2 – 3 months over our busy summer months. These roles are paid and ideal for those building work experience and looking to trial agency life or get back into the groove of working after COVID-19.

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social media

how to manage your online reputation

By on

July 1, 2022

- Category : social media

- Tags : accessibility, adventure, awards, Barbados

The annual update of What Happens in an Internet Minute tells us that last year, every 60 seconds there were more than 200,000 people tweeting, 695,000 Stories posted on Instagram, 500 hours of content uploaded to YouTube and 5,000 downloads of TikTok. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to online activity.

 

Whether your brand has a presence online or not, the conversation will still be happening. If consumers want to show off, praise, or complain about a product or brand, you can guarantee they’ll take to social media and post their thoughts there. Consumers will react as they choose, all publicly where their followers (and everyone else) can observe and engage.

 

So how do you control how people talk about your brand online? The simple answer is that you can’t, BUT you can influence and respond, and that has a huge impact on your online reputation.

 

Simply having a good social media presence helps consumers to make their minds up about making a transaction with a brand. It is a general expectation now that businesses will be on at least one of the major social media platforms. It’s not 100% necessary to have a full customer service function across all platforms, but engaging in a space where your target consumers are spending their digital time is critical for reputation management.

 

Reputation management

 

 

 

How to tackle social media as a business and keep your reputation intact

Any social media activity needs to be linked to your wider comms plan and support broader activity plans, and also requires slightly different marketing ‘muscles’. You can’t just set up the profiles and expect them to take care of themselves, or see it as a platform to use sporadically and think people will automatically engage. It requires commitment, time and on-brand content to be a success.

 

Content is key but ensure quality over quantity. While regular posts are important, it is essential that the content shared is of a decent quality. This doesn’t mean all photos or videos have to be by professional content creators, a decent iPhone shot works just as well, as long as it is framed well, clear, bright and uncluttered. Make sure your content is tailored to the different platforms. Aside from the obvious format differences, it’s important to consider how users consume content on different platforms: Twitter should be short, snappy and fast; Instagram users want beautiful imagery; while TikTok is all about engaging (entertaining, informative, educational etc.) video content.

 

 online reputation management

 

 

Have a clear goal for your content. Consider the end goal of the activity and tailor the content accordingly. Overtly promotional content is unlikely to attract the same engagement as funny, clever or educational posts which feature the product. And consider why people might engage with or share it. The ultimate goal is user engagement and shares, leading to growing followers and ultimately a cheering squad who support your brand and buy into your product.

 

As with any form of brand communications, make sure you have best practice guidelines in place. That way, anyone charged with taking to the helm of your feeds knows how and what to post to work toward your comms goals.

 

Getting the tone of voice right is key. Corporate, impersonal messages do not work – those engaging with social media do not want to be sold to in a generic/corporate way. Remember when you’re posting on your social platforms that those posts are being received by humans – talk to them in that way. Especially if you’re having an online conversation with someone after something has gone wrong. Humility and empathy can go a long way online.

 

 

 

 

When you’re managing a brand social media account you should be:

 

  • Honest and transparent

  • Informal and individual (or when there’s a need to be formal, remember to still be human)

  • Quick and reactive

  • Consistent

  • Conversational

  • In line with brand guidelines and other forms of marketing comms

  • Engaging

 

social media management

 

 

 

When social media goes wrong… how should you react?

 

There are some horror stories about how brands have reacted when things went wrong on social media – crucially, you can’t bury your head in the sand. Just deleting a post and hoping it’ll go away isn’t an effective strategy (or, in fact, a strategy at all) – it will have been seen, potentially shared, and Google may well have indexed it already, so it’ll still exist somewhere on the web and tring to pretend that it isn’t will have the complete opposite effect to what you’re hoping for.

 

Depending on the severity of the situation, this is where your crisis comms planning may need to come into play. Ensuring the social media team knows how to escalate a situation if and when needed, and that they take the conversations offline ASAP. Don’t carry out any individual back and forth in public – resolve the issue in a non-public forum. Usually, if it is dealt with satisfactorily, the user with the gripe will come full circle on their public story and update their followers, or at the very least, stop sharing negative comments.

 

People are far more forgiving if they see you learning – admitting to a mistake and actively making changes to address the issue and correct things going forward goes a long way. It’s true that negatives can be turned into positives when they are handled well.

 

If you plan well, give online activity the time and commitment it needs and remember that, ultimately, it’s simply a conversation between humans, it’s not as scary a place as it might seem.

 

social media reputation

 

Find out how we can help you and your business maximise the power of social media and tackle any crisis comms with ease, please do get in touch!

 

Get in touch

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marketing, pr advice

powerful partnerships: the value of brand collabs

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July 1, 2022

- Category : marketing, pr advice

- Tags : accessibility, adventure, awards, Barbados

The right brands coming together for the right reasons can make for a very memorable and powerful partnership. Case in point recently is the promotional pairing of Primark and Gregg’s. The nation’s favourite purveyor of sausage rolls (vegan or otherwise) meets fast fashion.

It’s an unlikely match made in heaven

With the 11-piece capsule collection exclusive to Primark offering everything from Gregg’s branded t-shirts and hoodies to trainers, bucket hats and boxer shorts, some stores sold out in minutes. Reports say that items were also up on eBay on the same day that the collab launched in store.

While the Primark and Gregg’s partnership is founded on fans of the high street bakery buying into the novelty factor, that in no way diminishes the credit due to the clever comms folks who originated and approved the idea. Not only has it resulted in reams of media coverage and viral social media content, but it also directly demonstrated the power of the right partnerships by resulting in immediate sales.

Really knowing the audiences and tapping into their psyche is essential when it comes to any lifestyle brand comms, as we discussed in our recent post. And, when it comes to collaborating on this level, it’s all the more critical as you’re aligning the brand values to another – the partnership has to amplify something that the brand already stands for to ensure there’s no risk in alienating your target consumer.

 

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Top-of-the-range teamwork

Similar collaboration methods work across the board. For example, taking the exact same format, but transferring it to the luxury world, The North Face – well known practical, outdoor adventure brand – recently partnered with high-end fashion designer, Gucci on a new range. Tapping into the younger audience, the pair also hit the headlines with the collab because the cherry on the top of this alliance was featuring recent TikTok sensation and the internet’s favourite trainspotter, Francois Bourgeois in the advertising campaign.

The objectives behind a brand collaboration can be widespread. Some will be simply to get people talking (Weetabix and Heinz Baked Beans, anybody?), but others simply make sense and are more long-standing partnerships. For example, Siren client, Thames Clippers, and transport behemoth, Uber. 

 

Case Study: Uber Boat by Thames Clippers

Serving to add more instantly recognisable branding and pique the interest of visitors to the capital for the River Bus provider, the partnership also gives Uber more constant presence in London with fully branded catamarans sailing through the centre of the city seven days a week.

It was key for the two brands to strike the right balance at launch, second only to said launch being in the middle of 2020 and the pandemic playing havoc with their initial big plans. London’s leading River Bus operator partnering with a global transport technology business meant tackling the brief to ensure maximum exposure for both brands in a way that sat naturally with existing customers of both businesses.

Now, more than 18 months into the partnership and it’s working hard for both brands, delivering all that we thought it could. Playing the long game and banking on enduring collaborations can really cement the right partnerships in consumers’ minds and deliver lasting benefit on all sides.

Read more about the launch of Uber Boat by Thames Clippers here.

 

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Case Study: The Rough Guide to Accessible Britain

For the beginnings of this partnership, we have to go all the way back to 2009. As the car scheme for disabled people, the Motability Scheme was looking for a way to engage the consumer media and reach potential customers, outside of the disability and motoring press. Thinking of routes to work with more lifestyle and travel outlets, we recommended a partnership with Rough Guides to create a guidebook to celebrate the accessibility of venues across the UK, and places disabled people could enjoy by travelling to in their Motability Scheme cars.

This partnership, now more than a decade strong has evolved over the years, but the core objective remains and continues to be met. Since the initial launch there have been multiple new ‘main’ editions of the Guide, we’ve hosted the Rough Guide to Accessible Britain Awards, brought in celebrity ambassadors in the shape of Ben Fogle and Chris Packham, created a Family Days Out edition and more. We’ve brought in various third parties too to strengthen the launch campaigns for refreshed reissues of the guide, working with the likes of the National Autistic Society and Carers Trust to ensure we’re doing all we can to make the guide content relevant to those core groups.

Now an online-only publication, the partnership remains strong. It’s the collaboration platform that keeps on evolving. You can view the current edition here: www.accessibleguide.co.uk.

 

How to know if a brand collaboration will work?

Alongside the examples of powerful, successful partnerships created, there’s a list of those that have gone disastrously wrong too. Think of the infamous Pepsi ad featuring Kendal Jenner, or that U2 and Apple collab which meant we were all burdened with an album on our iPhones that we hadn’t asked for.

There’s no scientific way to confirm that a partnership will be a 100% rip-roaring success, but it’s key that the aforementioned audience profiling and, crucially, understanding is met before jumping feet-first into aligning with another business or purpose. Choosing partners or a purpose that elevates what you already stand for as a brand, that adds credibility to your work or that taps into the passions of your audience is certainly a good place to start.

Find out how we can elevate your brand and create impactful campaigns, collaborations and coverage, get in touch.

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online pr

the benefits of being a b corp

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July 1, 2022

- Category : online pr

- Tags : accessibility, adventure, awards, Barbados

We at Siren Comms are in the process of becoming a Benefit Corporation, also known as B Corp.

 

This is a certification that shows the world what your company stands for. What drew us to this is that B Corp gives us an opportunity to declare that we care about more than profit, that balancing profit and purpose is important to us as a company. Working with our clients Delphis Eco, a sustainable cleaning brand and XeroE, an emission-free delivery service that are both certified B Corps inspired us to take the leap and apply for it. 

 

To become a B Corp is not an easy process, there is a rigorous assessment by the non-profit B Lab that gauges a company’s positive impact on workers, communities, the environment and its policies on accountability and transparency. The journey starts by registering and doing their free online B Impact Assessment. It’s a long set of thought-provoking questions with multiple choice answers that review your business policies, operations, treatment of staff and environmental impact scoring your responses out of a total of 200. To be eligible for B Corp certification, you must score at least 80 out of 200. The questions encourage businesses to ‘delve deep’ and drives you to form opinions on how you think things are going to be. 

 

Benefits of being a B Corp include: 

Being part of a like-minded tribe: businesses are part of a community where they can learn from and share their own ideas with other B Corps. B Lab hosts various events throughout the year that brings B Corps together 


More Credibility: consumers and other businesses trust companies with a B Corp status., With that seal of approval, they know your business is honestly committed to creating real environmental or societal change. 
Staying ahead of the curve: the assessment measures your business’s social and environmental impact. It gives businesses measurable benchmarks that push them to maintain and improve their company’s social and environmental benefits. There’s a re-certification process every three years to ensure companies are alert to improvement opportunities. 

Attracts the best talent: Being a B Corp helps to attract and retain good employees who are already committed to issues of sustainability and/or social change, they are already engaged in what you’re doing. 

Gain media exposure: Publications are keen to cover companies who pursue purpose before profit, as millennials enter the workforce and consumers increasingly seek companies that are transparent and responsible. B Corps have a step up on the competition for exposure on these topics.  

 

The leaders of B -Corps believe that sustainable business is better business and that they can use their business as a force for good. We are excited to be on this B Corp journey, the process has really made us reflect on our business and areas we need to improve on that were not apparent before. We hope to have good news on our application soon…watch this space! 

 

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uncategorized_

effective comms tactics for a lifestyle brand

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July 1, 2022

- Category : uncategorized_

- Tags : accessibility, adventure, awards, Barbados

What defines a lifestyle brand?

Lifestyle brands; the ones that inspire a way of life, stimulate us to live, breathe, consume and develop our personal aesthetics in a certain way. These are the brands that successfully go beyond offering a functional product or service and become an integral part to achieving a desired way of living life.

When such a brand makes the decision to recruit the talents of a comms or PR agency, it is crucial for said comms professionals to understand what the lifestyle is that they are selling prior to charging forward with media communications. This is just as important as understanding the functionality of the product or service in question.


Living the lifestyle

Brands can represent and inspire an audience and in some cases, conjure a very clear idea of a lifestyle just at the very mention of the name. I defy you to think of the following brands without having  a defined image of the end consumer: Rapha; Waitrose; Lamborghini; TikTok. See what we mean?

 

The associations can be incredibly clear. Adventure brands focus on exploring or taking risks, some brands are structured around sustainable living or perhaps it’s championing feminism they embrace. In most cases, it is usually a way of life that connects individuals to what they believe is the best version of themselves.

 

Taking the time to understand this is what will give PRs direct access to the community of people dedicating themselves to that way of life and as a result, will buy into the products or services that the brand is selling. The goal being to position the product or service as being a crucial tool for achieving this lifestyle.

 

Spending time observing, speaking to and researching the communities’ social preferences and behaviours is a great way to start this analysis. A PR should always ask the following questions:

  • What does this audience long for from travel, food, drink and fashion experiences?
  • Which public figures do they aspire to and why?
  • How do they like to spend their money?
  • What causes do they support?

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Lifestyle touch-points for comms professionals

Once you know exactly what kind of lifestyle you are helping the target audience to reach, you have personality profiles to target. Then it’s time to think about where they would eat, sleep, party and repeat to fulfil their ambition of attaining this lifestyle and, how you are going to use these touch-points to tell the story of the brand.

 

Once these are agreed it’s time to introduce the most relevant and influential voices to communicate the brand’s core messages and stories.

 

This is where the right media, influencers, brand partnerships, brand ambassadors, events and product/service line extensions come into play. Be it partnering with a like-minded brand, working with a brand ambassador, or supporting an activist; these tactics mean that a brand is able to enhance the positioning of their own values and beliefs.

 

When Kate Moss was infamously seen in the Hunter wellies we sent her at Glastonbury Festival, the product didn’t just get promoted as being useful tool for dealing with mud, but became a symbol of timeless rock n’ roll, a way of life that every festival goer wishes to embody – hence, urging them to buy Hunter wellies.

 

In 2002 when Patagonia created a non-profit donating 1% of its annual sales to grassroots environmental collectives, they didn’t just do a good deed, they enhanced the brand’s core values of supporting ethical adventure travel, offering their customers an easy route into adopting the purchasing habits of a sustainable individual and a symbol of communicating this to their friends and family.

 

The lesson to be learnt is, always understand the lifestyle that surrounds your brand and become an integral brand in supporting customers and followers in achieving this desired way of life. And, crucially, stay tuned in because  this lifestyle will evolve as new influences emerge, so the brand positioning has to evolve with its audience...or grow to embrace another lifestyle audience, but that’s another story for another time.

 

If your business is in need of some lifestyle PR magic, drop us a line hello@sirencomms.com.

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out and about

people & culture – walking the talk March 03, 2022

By on

July 1, 2022

- Category : out and about

- Tags : accessibility, adventure, awards, Barbados

This month, Siren is excited to kick-off two important initiatives for the business, supporting our growth strategy and honoring the commitment to our mission of ‘continually striving to deliver the best results for our people, clients, partners, and the planet. Our two first business improving initiatives are focused on our people and culture. 

 

Siren Comms is delighted to join the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) to support the continual professional development of our team and we have begun work with the National Centre for Diversity towards achieving Investors in Diversity accreditation. 

 

Whilst we have always taken great pride in our ethical conduct, transparent approach and focus on people, joining the CIPR supports our commitment to developing and investing in our wonderful people even further. Without people our business would be nothing. And boy do we have some wonderful people across our team. 

 

 

The CIPR is the world’s ‘only Royal Chartered professional body for public relations practitioners, boasting nearly 10,000 members’ and works in partnership with its members to ‘set, maintain and advance the standards in which public relations is conducted in’. 

 

In joining this professional body, we are committing to working within the CIPR’s ethical Code of Conduct set in place to hold practitioners accountable to their employers, clients and the wider public – something which has always been at the core of our approach as practitioners within the industry.  

 

We will also be able to access the institute’s Continuing Professional Development scheme and Accreditation and Chartership programmes ensuring that our team is offered the BEST possible training and development support. 

 

 

The second significant business decision is to commit to working closely with the National Centre for Diversity to achieve their Investors in Diversity accreditation. This process evaluates businesses through staff and partners to ensure their organization promotes Fairness, Respect, Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement as part of its policies and practices. Whilst we are proud to have built a business and team culture in which these values are respected and promoted, every business must look to improve in this space, and this is our commitment to do so. 

 

Stay tuned over the course of the next few months for live updates, learnings, and successes the team will be sharing as we embark on this journey of development, education, improvement and, of course, celebration.  

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technology

meet the latest buzzword that’s here to stay: the metaverse

By on

July 1, 2022

- Category : technology

- Tags : accessibility, adventure, awards, Barbados

Virtual meetings that feel real, new ways to build and teach, plus jobs you haven’t heard of—soon it won’t be science fiction!

 

So, what is exactly The Metaverse?

If the internet is two-dimensional—text and images on flat screens—think of The Metaverse as three-dimensional and multi-sensory.


To simply put it, the word describes a world in which our day-to-day lives transcend a single reality. Over time, it has come to encompass VR (virtual reality) experiences, AR (augmented reality) initiatives and other digital simulations.


Cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, are among the most popular today. And this list will only continue to expand as such currencies grow in trading across the real world and The Metaverse’s digital world.

 

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How The Metaverse can change the future of work

With Facebook rebranding its parent company to ‘Meta’, various other companies are rushing into the sphere, where music, art, and clothing take on a second, and profitable, life.


As a result, The Metaverse will also impact — if not completely redefine — the way people work. Already, the Covid-19 pandemic has certainly been the biggest test for the corporate world, shifting the world of work and its employees to remote collaboration quickly and forcing them to merge their real and virtual personas. The world saw the even more abrupt rise of platforms like Zoom and Slack, which enabled collaboration at a distance and across time zones, proving to be key in fighting for high levels of engagement and productivity in difficult times.


Various high fashion brands, music artists, and cryptocurrencies are already beginning to use The Metaverse as a dynamic new platform for exchange with new markets and business models emerging in response to The Metaverse’s synthesis of intellectual property, digital currency, and virtual worlds.

The future of commerce won’t be the same

With online shopping and delivery becoming the new standard since the pandemic, The Metaverse will only accelerate this trend. Consumers will no longer need to frequent physical stores to try new products before purchasing. VR and AR experiences will allow exploration of brands and their offerings from the comfort of customers’ homes. On the other hand, The Metaverse will also enable more interactive in-store experiences.


According to a study conducted by Bitkom, it was reported that 98 per cent of 14- to 29-year-olds and 95 per cent of internet users aged 65 and older currently shop online. What would it be like if we didn’t just have to evaluate products based on a few pictures but could see them almost real in front of us? We could “try on” clothes, “touch” them and see them in situ. Not only this but The Metaverse could also be used in other areas, such as grocery shopping, food deliveries and much more.

 

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How brands can enter The Metaverse

For brands thinking about how to navigate this new frontier, even knowing where to begin can be a challenge. How can we work better in the future?
Brands should always be in a test-and-learn mode, and the digital landscape requires intellectual curiosity. The Metaverse could be the next evolution of how humans use the internet to connect, communicate, and transact – staying on the sidelines is unlikely to be an option for long.


Those already in it need to be prepared for the fact that all new spaces come with risk and reward; manage accordingly, knowing that it may be highly unpredictable.


We should be excited about creating experiences in The Metaverse throughout the customer journey – from acquisition and engagement, to the transaction and customer support, which has the potential to be both spectacular and stickier than ever before.


So, for now, The Metaverse is not only a place to visit, but it is also an idea of what the world could be like and preparing for this potentially very fruitful channel needs to be on at least the periphery of us comms professionals.

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business

knowing your csi from your esg: what you need to know about successful purpose-led campaigns

By on

July 1, 2022

- Category : business

- Tags : accessibility, adventure, awards, Barbados

Environmental, Social, and Governance – ESG is the latest comms must-consider doing the rounds.  

 

With a legal obligation and public expectation for all businesses to hit net zero by 2050, work is underway to map out what businesses will look like, with research solutions and myriad ways to invest in the road map being pitched.  

 

In that process, there is a lot of comms gold, to tell a business story and showcase the next steps to move a sector forward. But we urge caution! Here are a few pointers to keep in mind, when mapping out your business ESG plans and how to communicate them.  

 

 

They can smell a fake   

One of the most critical pieces of advice we can give is to only create a purpose-led comms campaign if it is truly genuine. From greenwashing to box ticking, journalists are clued-up and so is the 2022 public audience. Your heart has to be in it, otherwise you are in for a crisis instead of praise.  

 

For instance, in 2021, Shell had an advert to give customers the option of ‘carbon neutral’ fuel with an offset fee. However, the backlash on not reducing emissions and falsehoods on claims was taken up by Dutch students and blew the initial campaign aims out of the water. If the intent isn’t to genuinely do good, then just don’t.  

 

 
Not all caring audiences are the same   

In terms of messaging and your target audience, it is important to note that audiences will have different priority levels when it comes to what they value in purpose-led and good businesses.  

 

For instance, in Kantar’s report – Who cares, who does 2021, there are three distinct eco-audiences. The eco-actives, who are shoppers that are highly concerned about the environment, and are taking many actions to reduce their impact. They feel an intrinsic responsibility to be more sustainable, follow the topic actively and have a greater awareness.  

 

Then there are the eco-considerers, described as shoppers who are worried about the environment and are taking some actions to reduce their impact. Their barriers are convenience and price.  

 

Lastly there are the eco-dismissers who are shoppers that have little or no interest in the environment and are not taking steps to reduce their impact. They lack awareness of environmental concerns and do not believe they can make a difference.  

 

What is important to note here is that each year the figures for eco-actives are rising, while for eco-dismissers it’s falling, showing the need for your business to start thinking about ESG and the messaging thereof.  

  

 

 

Pick causes that are aligned to your business  

In terms of CSI initiatives, or the ways that your business chooses to offset and give back should be aligned to your business. This is to help this area of messaging fit seamlessly into your overall brand.  

 

For instance, for Uber Boat by Thames Clippers, as a mode of transport it is synonymous with positive mental health as it is a stress free and visually pleasing way to travel through London. For a purpose-led campaign Siren created and hosted Café Conversations onboard, a way to bring people together from all walks of life who feel lonely or isolated – an increasing problem in modern London.  

 

In this way the brand created a positive moment for the London community, which also highlighted the transport’s USP. You can read more about this campaign here.   

 

 
It’s a journey, there’s no fast-track option 

Some businesses think you can only speak to media once they are 100% perfect, green and community positive. However, journalists and readers alike are well aware that sustainability and social causes are a journey, and that many incumbent businesses need to u-turn, research and develop solutions, and create paths to better business practices.  

 

It is the achievements along this journey that are worth celebrating, and your clients will want to celebrate those milestones with you.  

 

Siren Comms’ ethos is to strive to create the best results for our people, our clients, our business and the planet. Therefore, we have a number of not-for-profit, CSI and sustainability clients which we have created purpose-led campaigns for.  

 

To find out more about what purpose-led campaigns we could run for your business contact us at hello@sirencomms.com.  

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