UWE Bristol has unveiled its new immersive Sound Shower experience at Bristol’s Cribbs Causeway and Cabot Circus. Showing a mesmeric snapshot of campus life, the film was created by Skylark Media.
Filming took place at the university’s Frenchay campus and city with the support of student contributors. Multiple locations include the Atrium cafe, Centre for Sport, student union, library, as well as at the Arnolfini in the city centre.
The UWE Bristol sound shower experience at the Mall at Cribbs.
Stephanie Lee, Marketing Communications Manager at UWE Bristol says, ‘This is a really exciting film project with Skylark Media where we’re creating a film for a specific sound shower unit which will sit in Cabot Circus and Cribbs Causeway shopping centres to promote the university and bring campus life to the people of Bristol, so they can get a real immersive experience and sense of what it’s like to study here on our campuses.’
Skylark Media MD Jo Haywood adds, ‘For a unique out of home experience, we came up with a fully immersive concept using an Insta 360 camera on an extendable pole. It sits within the stitch line which then becomes invisible in post-production. The result is a fully immersive film that mimics a FPV drone – flying around from location to location or locking into subjects for detail. Diegetic sound is added in so that the viewer can eavesdrop into those private moments.’
You can experience UWE Bristol’s immersive Sound Shower at Cribbs Causeway or Cabot Circus this month.
Originally posted on: www.carnsight.com
I love a saying. I find myself increasingly trotting them out – probably more so the older I get. I can almost see the eye rolls from here! The thing is, the news agenda might constantly change (minute by minute, at the moment) but certain PR principles remain the same. Here are the most useful sayings in PR you might hear me utter.
Forewarned is forearmed
Preparation is vital in all aspects of PR. It’s why we start off with a deep dive into your business with our Three Lens Messaging Session – so that we’re ready to answer quick questions from journalists and respond to media opportunities proactively.
The same is true for media interviews. If you can prepare answers to the most common questions – including those you don’t want to answer – you’ll feel a lot more confident going into an interview and representing you and your business well. We always offer a call with clients before an interview and written notes where it would help. Even if they’ve done interviews many times before, we need to bear in mind what’s going on in the news and what fresh questions might come up. We have some top tips on preparing for a journalist interview on the blog.
It’s an art not a science
This was one from my sister, who also works in communications, and has been a very useful sounding board for me (thanks, Char). Sometimes I wish PR was a science with a proven formula, and that effort in always equalled effort out. But mostly, I embrace the fact that PR is an art and sometimes things come off that you couldn’t have imagined working. That’s why, as business you should work with creative people who can quickly adapt and fully understand the media process.
Success breeds success
I found myself saying this just last week. If you’re building a profile from scratch, be realistic and allow time for this to happen. Your PR consultancy could land a stellar piece of coverage immediately, but often it takes time. Once you have a few pieces under your belt, it’s much easier for you to be sold in, as any journalist will do due diligence on an expert commentator.
We talk to clients about the building blocks of content – even featuring some interesting, pithy pieces on your blog giving your views is a great place to start. We’ve sold people in on the strength of a good blog before. There’s much more about building profiles through PR on our blog.
You can lead a horse to water
This is another key one – with PR, you can do everything well, and provide a publication or a journalist with exactly what they’ve asked for – but ultimately, the end result is out of your hands. It’s sometimes even out of their hands, as it might fall to an editor above them. The skill is in getting the best possible results in every situation, and managing everyone’s expectations along the way.
At the end of the day (there’s another saying, creeping in!) our jobs are important, but we shouldn’t ever be anxious about them. I don’t want my team (or me) to be up all night worrying about work. We keep things in perspective, and we try and work people who do the same. PR is responsive and can be hit and miss, but we have to understand what’s within our control and what’s not within our control.
So there you go, some of the most useful sayings in the world of public relations, and no doubt, I’ll be using at least one of them again soon.
JonesMillbank, Bristol-based video production company, were commissioned by leading engineering consultancy firm Hoare Lea to celebrate the arrival of the National Satellite Test Facility (NSTF).
As unseen stewards of communication, man-made satellites keep us safe, informed and entertained, and their voyage into space demands phenomenal technical skill at every stage.
World-class science research, expertise and innovative testing transports them from concept to lift-off, and the unique design of the NSTF’s ‘cathedral-like’ facility means the chaos and challenges of space can be recreated here on earth.
Specialist equipment shakes, bakes and blasts satellites in the final phase of their ground development, testing them to their limits and arming them with the best preparation possible before their final journey into the unknowns of the cosmos.
JonesMillbank worked with Dr Jackie Bell, PhD, an aspiring astronaut and theoretical physicist who featured on BBC’s Astronauts: Do You Have What It Takes?, whose own journey through the space industry has tested her in every way imaginable.
The film was shot on location at the facility in Oxfordshire with support from RAL Space.
JonesMillbank are a passionate full-service video production company
They work in-house with a talented team of multi-disciplined creatives, all the while telling authentic stories long before it was cool for a range of clients such as University of Bristol, IDLES, NHS England, The Royal Mint and Battersea.
“I feel like we’re saying the same thing over and over.”
This is something we hear a lot from our clients. And it’s a valid concern. No one wants to be banging on about the same thing forever. That being said, you’d be surprised how important repetition is when it comes to PR.
PR is all about spreading and emphasising your key messages. That means repeating the message more than once and in more than one place.
What might feel like a simple and obvious thing to you – a message that forms the very basis of your business and the problem it solves – is likely not as obvious to the wider industry, hence why your business exists, right? Though it may feel redundant to you internally, externally it’s those very messages that you need to repeat. That’s how you become known and that’s what you become known for.
For example, at Carnsight Communications, we’re always talking about how important PR is for your business. Even more specifically, we’re always talking about why PR is so important for SMEs. We’re always repeating that message, and we repeat it because that’s what we do and what we want to be known for. There are number of key messages we push:
They’re not revolutionary ideas, especially not for us internally, but they’re messages our target clients need to hear and be reminded of. And we have our own special take on them, our own expertise and insights.
There will definitely come a time when you need to vary your messaging, but I can almost guarantee that that time will come much later than you think. Also, evergreen content will always be needed and this is where your key messages can come in yet again.
Revolutionary, unique and groundbreaking comments and takes are fantastic. Of course, we love those in PR! But they’re rare by their very nature – and there’s nothing wrong with that. There’s no such thing as an original idea, right? We’re all building on those that came before us.
Sometimes it’s not about saying something that’s never been said before, it’s about saying something well and in enough ways to reach someone new and have it resonate.
JonesMillbank, Bristol-based video production company, worked with independent marketing communications agency Golley Slater to bring its campaign for Save a Life Cymru to fruition.
It comes as data reveals that every year in Wales more than 6,000 people will have a sudden cardiac arrest and around 80% of those will happen in the home. New data shows that almost one in four of us (24%) have witnessed someone collapse and possibly need bystander CPR and defibrillation intervention.
Yet, less than half of adults in Wales are confident in performing CPR: however, when people understand that on calling 999, the call taker will talk you through CPR and direct you to the nearest registered defibrillator, 73% of adults said that they would feel more confident to intervene.
Survival rates fall by 10% every minute without CPR or by using a defibrillator, can improve a person’s chance of survival.
Golley Slater developed the campaign strategy and creative for Save a Life Cymru – Help Is Closer Than You Think – which aims to show that if you see a cardiac arrest, there is more support around you than you might realise and commissioned JonesMillbank to produce and create content across the campaign, including bilingual TV commercials, radio commercials and social adverts.
Supporting studio photography was also captured to roll the campaign out across digital, print and OOH.
“Working on the production of such a holistic campaign, let alone one for a good cause, was a fantastic opportunity and allowed us to add a huge amount of value and experience” said Russell Jones, Co-Founder at JonesMillbank.
“We already work with NHS England and a number of individual Trusts and we understand the importance of that value alongside impactful messaging”.
Dave Warfield, Creative Copywriter at Golley Slater said “the team over at JonesMillbank built a fun, creative relationship with us from the off which made treatments of scripts and finding inventive solutions enjoyable and painless.”
Lewis Clements, Senior Art Director at Golley Slater added “being so well organised on shoot days and accommodating in post-production kept the atmosphere upbeat throughout the process and made all the difference in bringing our ideas to life, exactly as we imagined them. Real patience, craft and willingness from start to finish.”
Production was shot on-location in Wales at Little Man Coffee in Cardiff and Firebug Studios in Barry.
Save a Life Cymru is Wales’ national organisation which aims to improve cardiac arrest survival rates in Wales. The Welsh Government-funded organisation promotes CPR and defibrillation within communities and encourages everyone in Wales to learn or to top up their CPR skills.
JonesMillbank are a passionate full-service video production company
They work in-house with a talented team of multi-disciplined creatives, all the while telling authentic stories long before it was cool for a range of clients such as University of Bristol, IDLES, NHS England, The Royal Mint and Battersea.
Are you curious about what a social media executive role involves? In today’s world, most of the population have some sort of social media presence. Social Media is a great way to stay connected with friends across the globe, as well as stay up to date with both local and global news.
It’s no surprise that businesses have embraced social media as part of their marketing strategy, with 57% of the 5.8 million small businesses in the UK having a social media presence (Socialbuzzing, 2019.) As this figure continues to grow, social media roles are in high demand with businesses looking to up their social media game. In today’s blog, we’ll go through what a social media executive job involves and what they can bring to the table.
Brainstorming to generate creative content
Social media executives are responsible for suggesting ideas that are tailored to both the specific audience and social media platform. This part of the role involves a lot of chasing in order to get clients to send over suitable photographs, whether from a work outing, a few office shots or photos of team achievements. It’s important to keep content fresh and varied, with a mix of media and as well as topics.
Tracking relevant awareness days
Tracking awareness days that are relevant to a business is a great way to generate both social media posts and blog ideas. A social media executive will create a tailored content calendar for each business they manage which will help in scheduling content appropriately. With the help of social media scheduling platforms such as planable or loomly, social media executives can optimise posting times to reach as large an audience as possible. Scheduling ahead of time also ensures that a business has posts lined up and ready to go, guaranteeing consistency.
Editing blogs and posts using keywords
It is important that businesses focus on the use of keywords when writing blogs and posts. By integrating keywords in text, you will strengthen SEO, allowing your content to reach a larger audience. A social media executive will work on weaving keywords into both new and older blog posts, which will also increase organic traffic onto your business’s website.
Reporting and providing analysis
Social media roles involve monitoring the level of engagement posts are receiving and producing reports on a regular basis. By collecting data in the form of page visits, likes, shares and comments, we can find out if our strategy is working or not and adjust to improve. Content can also be tailored better to the needs of the business’s specific audience.
We hope these points have helped you decide if your business would benefit from having a social media person on the team, or feel free to read our blog post on how social media analytics can help your business here.
JonesMillbank, Bristol-based video production company, worked with Matter to help launch a Kickstarter campaign for their product, Gulp; the world’s first microplastics filter for washing machines.
Every time we do our laundry, up to 700,000 microfibres are released from our washing machines and pumped into our waterways.
Gulp captures these microplastics before the ocean does.
It’s the first, sustainable, long-lasting solution, with zero additional filter costs and no disposable parts.
JonesMillbank worked with Matter’s team, including Founder Adam Root and Product Director Lucas Horne to bring Adam’s story and Gulp’s technology to an audience across Kickstarter and social.
“Working closely with the team at Matter was a great experience; it’s always nice to work with a client who are open to and trustful of your ideas” said Russell Jones, Director at JonesMillbank, who was also scriptwriter and assistant director of the production.
“The fact that the story and product is green-purposed and aligned with our strategy and net zero credentials was a benefit to boot”.
Lucas Horne, Product Director at Matter said “JonesMillbank did a fantastic job in pulling together a compelling creative that really told the story of Gulp and Matter’s development in a captivating way and the campaign was fully funded in under 30 minutes.”
JonesMillbank are a passionate full-service video production company
They work exclusively in-house with a talented team of multi-disciplined creatives, all the while telling authentic stories long before it was cool for a range of clients such as University of Bristol, IDLES, NHS England, The Royal Mint and Battersea.
What comes to mind when you think of Gen Z? Tech-savvy influencers? Social justice warriors? Instagram addicts?
In reality, 2022 data published by the Pew Research Center shows that Gen Z is the only generation that has seen a decline in social media usage since 2019. This excludes TikTok, which has seen positive take-up within the age bracket. There are several theories as to why this could be the case, with most attributing the demise to over-regular app updates wearing down younger users’ trust. Which begs the question; what cuts through the noise, and resonates with the “anti-social youths” of today?
#1 Video-centric platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
It’s no secret that there’s a clear correlation between age and attention span. Those born into Gen Z have had access to a whole arsenal of technology from the get-go, which could explain the 8-second average attention span versus millennials’ 12 seconds. Now, we’re not talking NFT birth certificates, or Oculus Rift headsets in the highchair, but rather unlimited exposure to social feeds from an extremely young age.
With so many like-minded platforms competing for Gen Z’s ears and eyes, the content that resonates tends to be delivered on a shiny silver platter, requiring minimal thought power to process. With 96% of people immediately turning to videos to learn more about a product or service, animated or video content has always taken less thought-power to consume compared to text-heavy alternatives. So, when “Entertain me in 5 seconds” is the brief, TikTok delivers. Weekly trends, dynamic transitions, user generated filters and ranked audio libraries create the perfect storm for undivided Gen Z attention. And the oldies are playing catch-up. Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts effectively provide the same platform, among their original format types.
#2 Personalised shopping experiences
Data capture can be dystopian as hell, but frankly, the internet would be a much tricker terrain to navigate without cookies – try working in Google’s incognito mode for a day and tell me otherwise. The same rings true for younger audiences online, where personalised shopping is now the norm. For them, trading personal data for an improved online experience is a no-brainer. Because of this, Gen Z can’t be fooled by generic ads with exhausted creative. Instead, marketers need to consider using guided quizzes, self-segmentation surveys, and on-site behaviour tracking to gather higher quality data on the details that matter most. Favourite brands, sizes, categories and colours are the specifics that mean the most when delivering the tailored content that they need. In turn, we can fine tune ads displaying similar products, offers and recommendations that they actually care about.
#3 Authentic ambassadors
Gen Zers can sniff out branded content from a mile off. Having been targeted by social media start-ups, drop shipping sites and 30-day free trials* (*£59.99 pcm post sign-up) for the past decade, it’s fair to say they’re wise to the ins and outs of shameless paid placements. Which is why it comes as no surprise that, in order to win their trust, brands need to demonstrate integrity.
The obvious workaround for brands looking to build trust, and ultimately advocacy, is to work with influencers to develop less corporate, and more authentic comms. But when 44% of Gen Zers claim that comparing their lives to the unrepresentative lives of content creators has negative effects on their mental health, brands must be selective with their ambassadors. Influencer fatigue is real, and we need to adapt. The creators succeeding are those combining their aspirational regime with real-life causes they honestly care about. Why on earth would a vegan food influencer have a deep-rooted passion for carpet cleaner? Gen Z are fully awake to unrealistic brand partnerships, so always seek authenticity when developing an influencer strategy.
#4 Raising a smile
As some brands seek out authentic influencer partnerships, others are beginning to let down their hair a little on social. While an airline provider would traditionally designate their Twitter feed to more service-orientated content, Ryanair gravitate towards pop-culture, communicating entirely through memes. By recognising and owning the typical inferences that come with budget airlines, there’s no limit for Ryanair’s internet fame. Whether it’s quote tweeting ridiculous customer complaints, or commentating on the recent F1 drama, they frame their services in a relatable, almost charming way. Frequently nodding to ‘the admin’, they’re unafraid to remind the audience that there is indeed a human behind the account – encouraging interaction on a much more personal level.
Social feeds might serve the primary purpose of entertainment, but who said learning can’t be fun? From fashion to food, there’s no denying that social media can act as a source of education. YouTube is now the second largest search engine in the world, with over half of Gen Z internet users having watched a how-to video, tutorial video or educational video on the platform in the past week alone. Social now acts as the immediate solution for those everyday problems, while providing a dose of the good stuff that we didn’t realise we needed to know.
Mob Kitchen x Aldi’s Instagram Reels, Tifo IRL’s meticulous dissection of the beautiful game and Grace Woessner’s TikTok sofa flipping are all prime examples of social subcultures that can land with a Gen Z audience. Nothing is too niche; and if you’re posting about a relatively unknown area, make the content accessible and engaging for all.
Gen Z was always going to be a tough nut to crack. Behaviour on socials is evolving so quickly, it can be hard to keep up. We recommend taking the time to learn about Gen Z’s preferences and prioritise building long-lasting relationships that benefit all parties involved over those quick wins. Ready to optimise your marketing? Drop the saintnicks team a line here to get the ball rolling.
Originally posted on: www.carnsight.com
Are you making the most of the coverage you’ve achieved through PR? Can you lay your hands on it quite quickly or is it languishing on a link, in an email, on a spreadsheet (or even a shelf)? As with any part of the marketing mix, PR works best when you use it in conjunction with other channels, and there are a range of ways you can maximise any coverage achieved to real effect. Read on for our top tips on making the most of your media coverage.
Firstly, why do more with media coverage?
Of course, media coverage will reach people as that’s its job, but what if you can extend its reach? Just look at what publications themselves are already doing – sharing their news on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter as that’s where they can reach even more of their audience. Not to mention individual journalists doing it themselves on their social channels. There’s a lot you can do to make coverage work harder.
So, how can you use your coverage?
1. Newsletters
Email newsletters (or even paper newsletters, as one of the brands we work with uses) are a great way to update clients, prospects and peers on your latest services, offers and news. They’re also an ideal place for you to share media coverage achieved. Sharing published pieces – not just blogs – demonstrates the authority of your opinions and your profile.
The best newsletters are short, succinct and blend news and opinion – you can even just have a small “in the news” section at the bottom with headlines and mastheads of publications. We have more top tips for email newsletters.
2. Sending to prospects
We tie in our PR plan with your new business focus, so if you’ve had a piece published that’s relevant for a prospect, why not share it with them? Some people do this through LinkedIn or some via email. It can work well if you’re already in dialogue with them about the issue, but it can also work as a cold contact. Perhaps it’s relevant to something they’ve said publicly that you can refer to.
Sharing a link or reproduced article (“have you seen our piece in Business Leader on the topic?”) has more authority than sending a link to a company blog (although those definitely have their place, as you’ll understand if you’re reading this!)
3. On social media
Are you sharing your coverage on your social channels? A comment and tagging the publication and journalist are a really good idea, too. Reshare and like the original as well as considering summarising the key points in a post. You can share the same piece in a few different ways at relevant times. If you’re stuck, have a look at our quick social media guide to comments, shares and tags.
Different channels work in different ways, but LinkedIn and Twitter are generally popular and give you different options for sharing. Instagram is much more visual so ensure the image is right.
4. Sharing on your website
You can link to articles from your website or use published pieces as inspiration for blogs. This is a great way to get two bites of the cherry and potentially help your SEO efforts. Just be careful not to duplicate content completely, word-for-word.
5. On industry sites or trade bodies
There are plenty of industry trade bodies and organisations that welcome member news. Make sure you’re maximising them! It doesn’t take long to share press articles with them. They may share online and on their own newsletters and they often include links, that other publications may not, depending on their editorial policy.
6. In an annual summary
It’s handy to keep track of coverage achieved each year and it’s a good reference for a new PR consultancy or team members. You can quickly see what you’ve been communicating that year and where. You can even use it as part of a welcome pack to your company.
7. On your slack or intranet – or the humble pinboard
Your internal audience is also really important. I remember how it felt to not be part of the PR process when I worked in marketing – the senior people seemed to be featured in articles and I had no idea about the strategy or what it meant for the company. Actually, good company PR can be really good for team morale, amongst other benefits.
An easy way to get your team on board is to share media coverage wherever they’ll see it – even if that’s a page cut out and displayed near the coffee machine. Your PR consultancy or PR agency could also offer to come in and share the PR strategy and results with the company, as we often do.
Sharing correctly
It’s also important to say that there are rules surrounding what coverage you can and can’t share without buying a licence – but these don’t apply to every publication. Please refer to The National Licensing Authority for full details.
Some people seem to be under the impression business blogs are a little yesteryear. But don’t be fooled. Just because there isn’t the same level of hype about them when they were a brand spangly new phenomenon, doesn’t mean they’re not working away in the background earning the clever businesses that are utilising them well, excellent value for money. Business blogs are now an integral part of content strategy in mainstream marketing campaigns, so if you’re not yet writing a business blog of your own, you should be.
There are lots of reasons your business should get blogging, but here are 5 to get you started.
Let peoplein
A well-written business blog allows you the time and space on your website to tell visitors everything you want them to know.
Writing website copy isn’t easy. You want to tell visitors everything about you so that you don’t miss a single potential lead. But here’s the rub, unless your offer is spectacularly unique for a very niche audience, you can’t speak to everyone with every word you write. Web copy needs to be short and snappy to grab attention quickly before visitors click away to another site.
That’s where a business blog can come in very handy. You can have an entire section of your website dedicated to the nitty gritty. Blogs can be populated with more information about you, your business, your customers, your opinions, and your industry. Even if you feel you don’t have enough to say to fill a blog, believe me, you do!
And it’s not overkill because readers that land on your blog are likely looking for specific answers to a problem, or a question they have, and will select the blog most relevant to them.
A blog is your chance to share more of your personality with your audience than you ever can in a few short pages of snappy copy that make up the body of your website.
2. Offer advice, training, and tips online
Whatever the service or product you’re selling, people buy from people they trust. A well-written business blog allows you to show off your expertise to potential customers, without flooding the body of your website with words. Some companies I have worked with are nervous at first about giving too much away for free, but they soon see that by building credibility and trust online, they are encouraging more enquiries that lead to valuable and long-lasting relationships.
And no amount of words on a page will ever be the same the same as them buying your product or service. For example, home improvement companies might share some top DIY tips for the simple jobs around the home, but there will always be people that will prefer to employ someone to come and do it for them, and they’re more likely to pick up the phone to you if they have found you open and honest online. In this same example, there will also always be home improvement projects that are too big for people to take on themselves, so they will want to outsource.
3. Create a community or network
One of the best ways to generate leads is by building a network of like-minded people. When we feel like we are surrounded by similar people in a similar situation to our own, we’re more likely to engage in the conversation and act on the issues at hand. A business blog on your website that encourages people to share their views, and perhaps includes contributions from relevant third parties, can provide a safe space for everyone to share ideas, problems, and solutions. By being the creator of this network, you put your business at the center of a hub of activity. Playing on the Fear of Missing Out phenomenon, people won’t want to miss what you have to say and won’t forget the company that brought them this community.
4. Reach further than your locality
All I have known in my working life is marketing and I honestly believe in using a range of marketing tactics for best results. But different mediums have different benefits and downsides and offline techniques do have a more limited reach. For example, a feature in a trade magazine might hang around in an office of your relevant target market for a couple of months if you’re lucky but will soon be filed or recycled. An advert in your local paper might speak to just the right person when it lands, but if the need isn’t there at that moment, it will be missed and never referred to again. Online activity on the other hand is here to stay.
Blogs especially tend to be used as more of a resource for people doing research, and it doesn’t matter whether they know you or not, whether they are directly involved in your industry or not, or whether they are local to you or not. It also doesn’t matter if a particular blog post is a couple of years old – if it answers their query, it gets used.
When you think that 85% of people research online before making a purchase, you start to see the far-reaching scope for publishing more content on your website and making the most of this first step in the customer journey
5. Boost your business
Last, but certainly not least, blogs are good for business! It can be difficult to buy into blogging when the results aren’t always a direct click of a button to buy, but building your online reputation holds a lot of value. A well-written and consistently produced business blog commands interest and will generate more enquiries in the long-run. The statistics speak for themselves.
Businesses that blog get 67% more leads monthly than those that don’t (DemandMetric)
Blogging is the third most common content marketing strategy after video and e-books (HubSpot)
Blogs can result in a 434% increase in indexed pages and 97% increase in indexed links (DemandMetric)
Businesses that blog get 55% more website visitors than businesses that don’t (HubSpot)
80% of internet users interact with both social media sites and blogs (DemandMetric)
There are a whole host of benefits to having a business blog but even if you are totally sold on the idea of producing regular content for your website, it’s not always easy to do. The day to day running of the business gets in the way, and with the very best intentions, it slips down the priority list. If this sounds like you, outsourcing a copywriter to write your business blog could be a good option to allow you to have your cake and eat it!
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