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Earlier this month I forwent my usual lunchtime perusal of the Daily Mail website to attend a much more intellectually stimulating debate at the RSA. The topic for discussion was “Modern Parenting: Policy, Politics and the Illusion of Equality” and the turnout (surprise?) was around 3:1 in favour of women. The debate was centred around “Shattered” – the first book from Rebecca Asher, a former executive producer at BBC Radio 4.

As a female who up until this month was still in her early twenties, parenthood and its consequence for working women was not something that registered massively on my radar. Yes, I have seen all the news reports concerning working women and heard many of my colleagues discussing their experiences but surely it is not something I will have to think about for a while? Or is it?!

What struck me during the debate at the RSA was a phrase used by Rebecca early on as she described the confusion for women who mistakenly believe that equality exists in today’s world, only to have their conviction quickly quashed as soon as they have children. She calls this the “expectation gap” - the gap between the equality women see in earlier life and what they experience once they have children.

I’d be interested to hear what the mothers and fathers out there think of this theory – are we mistaken to think that equality exists? Or for that matter do we even believe that equality exists in the first place? In order to avoid future disappointment should I be setting my expectations quite low moving forward?!

[more info including footage from the RSA debate can be found here]

I am posting the below on behalf of Zeynep -

My name is Zeynep and I am a 14 year old student who, for the last two weeks, has been working at Ruder Finn as part of my work experience. All of my friends had chosen basic work placements, and with me being the only one choosing an office job all the way out in central London, I was very sceptical at first. But I’m so pleased that I did.

I admit that before working at Ruder Finn I had a pretty crude idea on what PR actually was and so my first day on the job was scary and I was filled with nerves and anxiety not because the people around me were cruel, but because of the completely unfamiliar environment and the tasks I was expecting to do. But as the days went by my feelings changed. One of the people who made me feel welcome was Katie, who looked after me and educated me in great depth about what PR was.  Not forgetting Charlotte and Sarah, who were unbelievably kind and guided me on what I was doing and who I should go to for help, which really made my experience even better. There have been so many other people who I’ve enjoyed talking to and who have helped me and have made my experience of working in an office so beneficial including Alison who made me feel really welcome.

One of the things which I enjoyed the most about working at Ruder Finn is the time in the morning when newspapers are handed out and everyone in healthcare goes through them to find any interesting articles relevant to the healthcare business - that was the part of my day I really looked forward to because being able to read about current events and seeing the variations between each paper has been really entertaining, plus now I’ve developed a favourite. Another part I’ve enjoyed is seeing all the ideas behind coming up with a pitch and the process everyone goes through.                                                                                     

My time at Ruder Finn has been completely beneficial and I’ve gained so many important and lifelong skills, such as the ability to work in a professional and positive work place, it’s also given me a different perspective on work itself. I’ve learned the meaning of PR and all the hard work that goes into it along with the inner workings of Public Affairs, thanks to Matt. Overall I’ve 100% enjoyed my time here at Ruder Finn. It was totally cool!!  

I have to admit that the Independent is not my newspaper of choice, yet last week I was pleasantly surprised when I attended Gorkana’s breakfast briefing with Independent and i editor-in-chief Simon Kelner to find out more about the paper as well as hear how the first new national newspaper for 25 years - i - is doing. What struck me was how passionate Simon was to the Indie and his views on why i is and will be a success – he claims to receive 50-100 letters a day, mainly from readers saying they like or love the paper. He firmly believes there is a future in newspapers but that the format is changing, which is why they launched i, with a loyal set of readers that are already very attached to it. He also thinks his job is the best in the world.

So who is i aimed at? There is no typical reader – i is aimed at a broad demographic but mainly aimed at young 20-30 year old professionals – a bit like all the people in the audience (hint hint).

How many people read it? Simon claims that i has helped to expand the newspaper market and that they’ve taken market share from the Metro. In terms of readers of the i and the Indie, he believes that i may have taken about 6,000 readers from the Indie, and that i has a circulation of 175,000, which he expects to grow and even become more popular than the Indie. He think that the two papers complement each other:“without the Indie, i wouldn’t exist”

Will it ever become free? He has no plans to do this yet, but wouldn’t rule it out; especially if a new competitor came on the scene

How does the editorial team work? Do Indie journalists work on both papers? Yes, the Indie staff writes for the i too – he mentioned there was no resistance from staff during the changeover

What does he think of social media? He’s not a fan of Twitter (which he sees as a competitor) but uses Facebook for the i fanpage, which currently has 11,000 followers

How is it working for a Russian boss? As opposed to the media in Russia, he believes in the free word and Simon is given a free hand in editing the paper – no one tells him what to write!

Also see Gorkana’s write up of the briefing.

As I’m the target audience I should really buy myself a copy of i and see if this changes my mind about the Indie…oh sod it I’ll look online instead…

The talk that Doug Wills, Managing Editor of The Evening Standard, gave on Thursday night at the PR Newswire Meetthemedia event was one of the most charismatic and interesting media events I have been to. It is clear that after over twenty years at the publication, Doug is passionate about the newspaper “that happens to be free”, is “a celebration of London” and “a part of the city”. He shared some fascinating (and humorous) statistics and insights into the newspaper - I have looked at it in a different light the last couple of evenings I have grabbed it on the way home.

• The Evening Standard has been around since 1827
• It has a circulation of 1.5 million
• In February 2009, it was bought for £1 by Alexander Lebedev
• It has fought off competition from The London Paper and London Lite – both of which have ceased to exist
• 200,000 papers used to be distributed from 7,000 outlets, now 700,000 are distributed from fewer than 1,000 outlets – a more focused model
• The Dispossessed Campaign raised £5 million in three months. A sensitive and highly emotional topic that Doug feels many papers might have walked away from
• Between 4-7pm, 60 copies of the Standard are picked up every second
• The Standard remains a quality newspaper, even though it is free. It is written by a high quality team of journalists, analysts and commentators – they have a reporter in Libya and one in Japan
• The last papers for the evening are printed at 5pm – this means the paper is as up to date as possible, including news from the afternoon
• ES Magazine – is no longer distributed automatically with the main paper – this has tripled its readership. The print copy has a new executive editor – new design coming up in next few weeks
• Does Doug see the Independent’s “i” as competition? Not so much – it hasn’t taken copies from the main papers or The Evening Standard or the Metro – it’s a different readership
• Media Week awarded The Evening Standard ‘Brand of the Year’ in 2010 which Doug said was “quite cheering”
• He also said that Obama learnt that Gordon Brown was leaving Number 10 from the paper – “so that was quite fun”

Advice for PRs – Unless it’s jaw-dropping, your press release will go in the bin. If you have a relationship with the journalist, and build up that confidence, PRs will be treated with respect (he didn’t say what would happen otherwise)

And finally, Doug said that the majority of the many emails he receives from readers are complaints that they haven’t been able to get hold of the paper. His characteristically modest response? “I’ll settle for that.”

This is cross-posted from my personal blog: sorry its taken a while to write this up. I went to Markettiers4DC broadcast conference on Thursday and here are the notes that I made at the event.

Bruce Daisley provided an overview of YouTube’s marketing opportunities. Probably the most interesting aspect of it was the pay per play advertising auction for video advertising which factors in advert performance similar to the AdWords auction model. There is comparatively little competition at the moment so the ads look relatively good value.

Martin Bedford highlighted the changes that corporate PRs would face with the move of BBC business and breakfast to Manchester. The majority of the content will need to be done in the studio with the programme rejecting down the line. The tone-of-voice will be much more ‘punterish’ and celebrities won’t be welcome.

Jaqui Devereux’s overview of community media was ideal for those PRs looking at areas such as healthcare behavioural change and reaching ethnic minorities.

First News business overview was interesting for a number of reasons:

• The size of the team that they have working online versus the amount of reader-generated content they receive to moderate
• The desire to create shareable content
• The use of the interactive whiteboard as a platform
• The challenge of being a media which is a professional tool, but managing to appeal to young consumers
• The use of iPads to surf the site by children further enforces the view of the iPad as a communal device

Margaret Sawdon’s personal view of media proliferation was interesting, particularly when one heard about the evolution of GMTV’s digital strategy. The power of affiliate deals are so often overlooked now.

I am posting the below on behalf of Dolapo -

My name is Dolapo I am 15 years old and I have been working at Ruder Finn for the last two weeks for work experience. When I first came to Ruder Finn I had no idea what PR was about and I was very nervous. In addition, the majority of the staff at Ruder Finn just happen to be women which did not help with my confidence. One thing I did notice is that to work at Ruder Finn, you need to know your way around Microsoft Outlook - with my luck I had never come across it before - I’d heard of it but had never used it before.

Sophie, one of the people who works at the company, took very good care of me and showed me the basics of Microsoft Outlook - thankfully I got used to it pretty quickly. Everyone at Ruder Finn was extremely patient with me, correcting my regular mistakes and showing me the ropes; Sarah helped me a lot without me even having to ask so I was very grateful for that. After a couple of days I seemed to settle in and become less anxious and cautious. The Canon 2 - the mighty printing, scanning and photo copying machine with its infinite number of touch screen buttons - was my next major challenge. If it wasn’t for Charlotte I would still be hypnotised by its constant and taunting flashing. That printer really knew how to push my buttons.

One thing apart from lunch that I really looked forward to was my almost daily chat with Hugh about physics - it was my chance to relax in some truly intriguing conversation. I am really pleased that I have learned a lot about the world PR. I have in no way learned everything about it but I definitely now have a strong understanding. Being at Ruder Finn has helped me in a lot of ways – for example I could feel my typing speed had increased. Before I came here I had no idea what a blog was or how to write one but thanks to Ged, Flick and Sophie here I am writing one.

So I would just like to say thanks to all of the Ruder Finn staff for being so polite and helpful towards me.

Here is a little experiment for you. Take a scroll through your Linked In contacts and see if you can count how many of them are employed (as opposed to self employed) female and with young / school age children. I have no wish to harp on about glass ceilings and the lack of flexible working practices but even knowing what I do about the PR industry I was shocked. Of my 242 contacts, less than 20 fitted this description.

When I was an account executive, nine out ten people at my level in the company were female. At senior account executive and account manager the ratio was similar. When I got to AD things started to change and by the time I got to director the pendulum had definitely swung the other way.

What is particularly sad about this is that it represents a flow of talent from the industry which, by the time you reach senior management, has turned into flood.

In years gone by most of these women would have just turned their back on PR but times are changing and some of these agencies are going to have to watch their backs. A quick Linked In count up revealed as many self employed mothers as employed. Better connectivity and networks like Linked In are also bringing these women together in virtual teams who, when coming together to hunt down new business, pose a considerable risk to more established agencies. They can deliver experience, flexibility and senior consultancy without having to worry too much about profit margins or hourly billing rates. Organisations like the PR Network, which specialise in helping senior freelancers (majority of whom are mothers) to find work are actually going out with virtual teams to pitch against agencies for new business.

So now it’s not just about brain drain. Perhaps the thought of losing business to these virtual teams will be enough to finally make agencies think about what they can do to hang on to their female talent. After all nothing quite sharpens the focus like a hit to the bottom line.

Thanks to an early-morning TfL fail, I unfortunately missed the first ten minutes of the Gorkana breakfast briefing with Andrew Clark, Business Editor and Heather Stewart, Economics Editor at The Observer.  The parts I did catch however were extremely useful and I’ve included some of the key points below:

Links between The Guardian and The Observer:

- Apart from specific editors like Andrew and Heather, many of the journalists at Guardian Media Group are seven-day operatives specialising in key subject areas.  Their main areas of focus are breaking news throughout the week and working on Sunday news and features

- When pitching, you will need to specify which paper you think your story would be suited for

- Links from the Observer Business section to the rest of the paper – many of the stories are consumer-focused and easily accessible and so depending on the angle of the article the story can be moved into the main section of the paper

- Online: If a story is urgent the team will publish early online, however they do plan stories with a Sunday publication date in mind

Working week:

- Work from Tuesday – Saturday

- Tues/Weds – Conduct majority of briefings with PRs, finding story leads

- Thurs – Star to plan for weekend edition

- Fri – Planning for lead news and features

- Deadline: Saturday around 12:00 p.m.

- In terms of submission planning meeting for features take place Thurs/Friday, breaking news jus goes straight to the relevant journalist

What makes a good Observer story:

- Fits in with the broader news agenda

- Features with spokespeople who are willing to think outside the box (Roger Carr, CBI)

- Stories around current topical issues (e.g. Lord Davies Women in Boardrooms report)

- Political/green/CSR issues always of interest

PR-able sections:

- Punditry throughout the section – spokespeople who are willing to be controversial and have a strong opinion

- Case studies are always welcomed

- Success stories/company results  - don’t have to be a listed company, can be a company that is doing things differently etc.

- Don’t tend to run bylines/features although if you think your company/spokesperson is prolific enough then feel free to pitch!

- Observer podcasts –pitches can be sent to Paul Maynard

- Engaging with the team – like to speak to CEO level, but any credible players within the business world will be considered.  Happy to meet with PRs first to build a rapport

Specific pitching - The UK Budget:

- The team envisage that there will not be many shocks in the upcoming budget, will me more focused around key themes such as unemployment and the action the government plan to take to alleviate the situation

- Do not bombard the team with 5+ comment emails during the day.  They prefer more though-out, opinionated comment the day after the event

Laura and I attended a great networking event last night, organised by law firm Irwin Mitchell. Entitled ‘persuasive presentations’, the event featured Daphne Clifton and her colleague Fiona Handle from Make Life Easy.  Throughout the hour-long presentation Daphne outlined her 10 ten tips for persuasive presentations so we thought (being the nice people we are) that we would share our learnings with you!

Top 10 Tips:

Prepare, prepare, prepare

Context is crucial, and Daphne emphasised the importance of ensuring you conduct research about your audience to make sure your pitch is very specific.

People buy people

When people buy into an idea or proposal, the main reason for them doing so is often down to the person presenting.  So be yourself – learn from others but make sure your pitch represents your personality

Listen
When speaking to somebody directly, make sure you engage with them. Listen to what they have to say, pay attention and ask questions to encourage people to share more with you

W.I.I.F.M (what’s in it for me?)
In new business meetings and networking events it is important to realise that everyone has a motive for being there – it’s not just for the free drinks and canapés – so make sure you identify your objectives before attending.  Try to get hold of a delegate list, highlight people you want to speak to and if you don’t know them ask the event coordinators to introduce you

Learn to K.I.S.S (keep it simple and straight forward)
Don’t baffle people with jargon or embellish the truth: be honest and be open – it will be this that gets you remembered

Whats the ONE THING (that you want out of the meeting?)
Again, another good reason to identify your objectives before the meeting but also the objectives of your counterparts – why are they there, what is on their mind, do they understand you.  Be sure to meet these requirements

Point of difference…and can you prove it?
What make you/your company stand out?  Practice your one minute elevator pitch before big meetings and events and be confident in talking about your skills

Practice makes perfect

As silly as it sounds, practice your presentation and pitch at home, either alone or in front of others and get feedback.  And be prepared for questions!

Don’t be a S.L.O.B

o Sense of humour failure – how do you respond when nervous?  Be aware of this and avoid letting your ticks come across!

o Loss of memory – nerves can wipe your memory so make sure you have notes, but again practice is key

o Odd behaviour – things such as tripping over stairs, spilling drinks etc. can happen in high-pressure situations.  Make sure you arrive to your meeting early to give yourself time to relax

o Breathing – Deep, calm breaths are crucial.  If you feel your breathing slip, stand up – not only does this give you authority, it will help you breathe more easily

Use your comfort zone wisely

Review your pitch regularly and add anything you think sells yourself and remember to make the most of your colleagues and life coach to help work on the points that you’re still sticking on

Any other useful tips people want to share?

Flick and I attended another jam-packed Gorkana briefing this week at the DLA Piper building. Sharing their wisdom with us this time were the team from Financial News, who included Phillipa Leighton-Jones (Online Editor), Ben Wright (Deputy Editor) and William Wright (Editor-in-Chief).

The team answered questions for around an hour on a whole variety of topics so I thought I would share some of the most useful hints and tips below:

General about:

• The Financial News team consists of around 40 ppl
• They aim to write about 15-18 stories a day – plus aggregating stories from Dow Jones and WSJE
• The publication targets 4 main classes – asset management, investment banking, private equity and trading and technology – but also consultants who work with these industries i.e. lawyers
• The most popular content on the site is always the photo galleries
• After these the most viewed stories are those on bonuses, jobs, pay, recruitment and anything on the ‘inside track’

Working week:

• The paper comes out on a Friday so you need to work backwards from that day in terms of pitching
• The journalists start thinking of stories in a 2/3 week cycle
• Deadlines = Tuesday night and Wednesday night
• Edits = Wednesday and Thursday
• Thursday = working on news for website and for front 7 pages of print publication

Working week online specific:

• 8-9am = very intense time so don’t call
• Online stories are filed by 11.30am so try and approach the journalist before 6pm the night before
• They now break more stories online rather than holding for the print edition

PR-able sections:

• Talking points – pensions and investors sections
• Run comments elsewhere in the paper
• NB Financial News does do quote checks but only to check accuracy -  they will NEVER run whole article past you

Final point:
What Financial News really values is ACCESS, ACCESS, ACCESS