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Monday, February 15, 2016 The switch from print to digital for the Independent has sent a tremor through the newspaper industry. But what does it mean for comms and PR?
by Dan Slee
Monday, February 8, 2016 
We can all easily get distracted. Emails. The phone. Twitter. But how can we stop flitting and focus?
Monday, January 25, 2016 
Good apps are heart to find. But for one comms person a taxi app that is revolutionsing travel stands out.
by Rob McCleary
Uber is the best app ever. Why? Well, for a start, it was almost definitely sent back in time to me by my future self. The future self who lives stress free and absolutely does not turn into the Incredible Hulk every time he tries to get a taxi late at night.
Tuesday, January 19, 2016 
A comms person who deals direct with industry has a clear message for comms people. Quit the negative talk about the economy.
Less than two weeks into a new business year and there is already talk of an impending recession and uncertain times ahead. Great, just the tonic we ordered to start the year off.
Even by January’s depressing standards this is a new low, yet rather than fighting back to dispel the doom and gloom we seem to have numerous business organisations trumpeting the fact and – certain elements of the media - lapping it up.
Monday, January 18, 2016 
We're staging three unawards masterclasses across the country. There are slides in the morning and an unconference in the afternoon where the agenda is decided on the day. But where does it fit in the need to learn?
by Dan Slee
You. If you are willing to learn new things there’s a chance you’ll still have a job in 2020.
This is not a bold statement. It’s surprising how many people quietly have contacted me to say that line resonates.
Tuesday, January 5, 2016 
An impromptu party thrown by commuters struck a chord and put one comms person in the media spotlight when it became a good news story. Here's what he learned.
by Chris Lines
“Great idea! Party on a train. I’ll bring sausages and croissants.”
I may have worked in comms for 30 years but, at that moment, I wasn’t thinking comms. I was just chatting with some regular passengers on my daily commute.
Ten days later, as the 8.08 from Abergavenny set off (late) for Cardiff, the party started. Jeremy brought paper chains and table cloths. John shared the crackers which gave us our paper hats. Allan had the bubbly. Sian had all kinds of spreads. Cellan arrived one station later with chocolates. And I indeed brought sausages and croissants as well as some generous sized toasties.
Monday, January 4, 2016 
History teaches us many things. Not least how we have responded in times of crisis.
"The Lincoln continues to slow down. Its interior is a place of horror. The last bullet has torn through John Kennedy's cerebellum, the lower part of his brain.
"...at first there is no blood. And then, in the very next instant there is nothing but blood...Gobs of blood as thick as a man's hand are soaking the floor of the back seat..."
I recently read The Death of a President, William Manchester's brilliant unflinching account of the events leading up to and the aftermath of the assassination of John F Kennedy in November 1963.
You can see the Wikipedia entry about the book here.
Everything is in here, from the paintings on the wall of the hotel room where Kennedy spent his last night alive to the layout of the emergency room the president lay in at Parkland Memorial Hospital as doctors tried vainly to save his life.
Wednesday, December 30, 2015 
Phew. Well that was 2015.
It's been an absolutely packed year. I have been fortunate to work on some brilliant and varied projects, from developing a government campaign, running training workshops and delivering a series of strategic comms and digital reviews for organisations.
We have developed new guidance on digital comms for the Local Government Association and we have hosted and delivered over 20 events around the UK. We have spoken at events, made new friends and contacts. And we have continued to learn.
Tuesday, December 29, 2015 
Research showed that most people only use five apps regularly. So, we asked some members of our community to name five apps they most use.
by Dan Slee
We rely on mobile apps to a huge degree to get things done - but which are people's favourites?
The answers can be personal and give an insight into what makes people tick.
Recently, we read that on average people may have a phone full of apps but only tend to use five. So, which five do you use most?
We asked some people we admire to list what's on their phone and there's some gems on the list.
Sarah Gill, digital communications manager at Newcross Healthcare Solutions:
Tuesday, December 22, 2015 
It's been hard to avoid it online, on TV, on the radio or in the school yard... there's a new Star Wars film. But this buzz isn't an accident and there's a lesson to learn.
A word of warning before we begin: if you haven’t seen ‘The Force Awakens’ and intend to, stop reading now. I am probably going to ruin it for you. These aren’t the droids you are looking for.
If you are still with me, you’ve either already seen it or aren’t going to, either of which is fine for our purposes. I saw it recently, and enjoyed it. I wouldn’t describe myself as a Star Wars fan, but I’ve seen all of the films, appreciated the original three and hated the more recent trilogy. I have bought a range of merchandise over the last month for the man of the house who is a fan (more of his opinion later). So, I went to see ‘The Force Awakens’ with no particular axe to grind nor any desperate need for it to be brilliant.
Thursday, November 26, 2015 
We know we live in a changing landscape. Yet, every year out of the fog like a lighthouse beam comes a moment of clarity. That moment is the Ofcom communications market report. Here are some stats to know by heart. It’s 400-pages. We read it so you don’t have to.
By Dan Slee
Research, said astronaut Neil Armstrong, is creating new knowledge so how often do we really do that?
Alone on a sea of change it is easy to feel as though you are bobbing around on the water uncertain and very often alone. Sure, there’s snippets of information out there. Often it can be confusing and only casts light on a small corner.
All this is why as a communications person you need to spend time a few hours with the Ofcom communications market report 2015. I mean it. You do. It tells you far better than anything else the direction of travel in the UK. Once more, it is free.
A week or two back I sat down and read through it all.
It is shaping what I’m doing. It doesn’t have all the answers but it has many and it’s the starting point of everything that you need to do.
Tuesday, November 17, 2015 
Here’s a quantitative look at how user experience and usability can influence user conversion on an organisation’s own website.
by Sarah Gill
The experience of your target audience when interacting with your app or website on a mobile device should be an essential consideration in every digital communications plan.
Users form their emotional reaction to your organisation very quickly and if their information needs aren’t met swiftly, abandonment will surely follow.
Not to be confused with usability, the consideration of the user experience represents a holistic approach to all aspects of a user’s interaction with a business, it’s service and products. User experience and usability are terms often used interchangeably but there are key differences...
Thursday, November 12, 2015 
Print is dead, right? Maybe not. On the day the NME became a free sheet available at train stations and TopMan, Louder Than War expanded from their success online and launched as a glossy magazine. Editor of louderthanwar.com Sarah Lay shares her experience of growing from digital to include print.
by Sarah Lay
The first issue of Louder Than War magazine featured the Stone Roses on the cover and was titled ‘I Wanna Be Adored’. In truth it could have carried another song title from the band, ‘I Am the Resurrection’, and been just as fitting for Louder Than War’s bold move into print.
That’s right, as the increasingly hysterical cry of ‘print is dead’ resounds and on the day that stalwart of the music press NME moved to become a free sheet given out in train stations, Louder Than War made the dauntless move to swim against the tide and launch as a glossy, paid-for, magazine. While that sinks in let me introduce you to Louder Than War properly.
Tuesday, November 10, 2015 
There’s nothing new in saying that we should review and evaluate work to see what works. It’s obvious and it’s important. The problem is that many of us don’t do it often enough.
The chances of there being a comms person out there today who doesn’t think that reviewing and evaluating their work is important will be tiny.
Yeah, yeah, yeah – we know it’s important, but when there are 10 people asking for my help, three comms plans to write, the phone ringing off the hook and the impacts of a comms team which has been cut in half it’s a lot easier said than done.
Sound familiar? Yep, me too.
Amongst the many things I learned in 10 years of leading comms teams it’s that standing back and taking a good hard look at your work is 1. Absolutely vital, and 2. Something of a luxury to do often and well. Like wanting a brand new car but settling for paying the bare minimum to get the old car through another year’s MOT (and that sounds familiar too)
With the consultancy work I have been doing with comms2point0 I have had the incredible opportunity to review a dozen organisation’s communications activity in microscopic detail. This is fascinating work and I thoroughly engross myself in the detail of these reviews. They tell stories and give clear indicators to the ‘what should we do next?’ question.
Thursday, October 29, 2015 
Look around at comms teams and there is an imbalance. The senior people are men. The team are overwhelmingly female. That surely means the people at the top will be female in future, surely?
As many of my colleagues have blogged and tweeted, the first session of the LGCommunications ‘Future Leaders’ programme took place a couple of weeks ago. It is a fantastic programme that I am hugely honoured to be a student of. It’s the kind of opportunity that money would struggle to buy: the bringing together of a group of peers (and the other people on the course are both hugely impressive and talented, so I better up my game), the allocation of a mentor and the opportunity to talk to people like Alex Aiken (Executive Director for Government Communications) and Christian Cubitt (Deputy Spokeperson to the Prime Minister), who frankly have other, fairly pressing calls upon their time.
If you ever have the chance to take part, I would urge you to do so wholeheartedly.
