Tag Archives: #prstudent

#CreatorAwards22 Are you student blogger of 2022?

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“PUBLIC Relations is all about reputation” has been the mantra during our first few weeks of teaching.

But it’s also about communication, content, writing and digital media – all skills that you will learn about and build during your year with us.

And what better way to develop your content writing capabilities than by becoming a PR student blogger?

Every year, PR Academy runs a student blogger competition for everyone enrolled on a PR or comms related course in the UK. This is YOUR opportunity to develop and perfect creative content that will build your personal brand and get you noticed by potential employers.

Traditionally, the #CreatorAwards22 has been dominated by some of our neighbouring universities and colleges, but last year Newcastle students took up the challenge and put themselves proudly on the map.

Among them was Sophie Smith who, while writing for this blog, started to get recognised for her excellent networking and writing skills – including an internship with Stephen Waddington – and is now starting a new role as a Digital PR and Content Executive.

The contest works via the #CreatorAwards22 and #PRStudent hashtags, which picks up any content that PR students have created over the past few days. Then, weekly winners and their universities are announced ahead of an annual ceremony to announce the student PR blogger of the year.

Richard Bailey, editor of PR Academy’s PR Place Insights, said: “We are keen to discover talented content creators from among current UK-based public relations students. We’re looking to identify examples of creative content that support a student’s personal brand and which might appeal to employers.

“This content could be a blog post; it could be a conversation on Twitter; it could be audio or video or photo content. We’ll be sharing a selection of creative content examples each week of the academic year and towards the end of the year we will name a shortlist of creators from which we’ll pick the winners.”

Our students at Newcastle have already made a fantastic start by sharing their experiences of the first week of students by writing a blog post. For example, Jaiqin who told us about becoming a course rep and her desire to volunteer during her studies; Kefan about his love of fish and chips and struggles with the different UK coins; or Sahra who wrote: “I’m in the right place and the right time, and from the deep of my heart I was sure that I made the best decision to start the new chapter of my life with Newcastle University.”

Yumeng wrote a lovely post about our induction week picnic in Leazes Park, which although a breezy day, was a wonderful chance to meet our new students.

Yumeng said: “After the academic session, the tutors organised a picnic in Leazes Park. Many impressions still vivid in my mind, like the lake in the park, the sparkling light of which is also reflected in my heart. Lush trees, waddling geese, police officers patrolled on horseback… We sat on the grass and felt the poetry of nature coming from the wind.”

We have also heard from Huiyun who has been getting to grips with shopping apps and checking out the UK supermarkets; and Qi , who is loving life in the Armstrong Building because it reminds her of Hogwart’s; while Long is learning  to rush around between classes – we feel your pain and that’s why you will soon see some changes to the timetable!

Thanks so much to all of you who submitted blog posts about your first week at Newcastle – we really enjoyed reading them.

But now, it’s over to you – get writing, get blogging and use the hashtag #PRstudent or click the link here to find out more about #CreatorAwards22

The past winners list has one distinct absence – can we change that in 2022? Yes we can!

Pudsey even more in need in Covid times

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By Piotr Boiwka

AS PUDSEY Bear has changed in time, the idea it represents is still actual. Children are in need and for the 40th time, the fundraising event has been broadcast by the BBC.

This year, it was even more important due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected young people abominably in many ways. The number of children affected by food insecurity, anxiety, and stress increased significantly.

Time for charities is extremely difficult. Analysis of more than 1,600 fundraising pages made by BBC showed that the average amount raised by the given organisation decreased from £657 a month in February to £236 in June. This is even more dangerous for small charities which are mostly affected by lack of funds.

But even huge fundraising campaigns like Children in Need observed remarkably lower income, comparing to previous years. This year’s £37 million looks phenomenal, but when we look at over £47 million gained in 2019, it seems a little bit pale.

What went wrong? Simply saying – coronavirus. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdowns, and economic crisis people are worried about their financial condition, what causes a lower level of donations for charities on all levels.

NGOs are struggling to gain an audience when they are unable to provide traditional forms of events. Strategies based on crowded gatherings on fresh air were mostly impossible to deliver. Fundraisers needed to adapt to create a digital equivalent, often without any previous experience in this area. Many have done that with success, but it still has not matched financial results from the past.

Hopefully, circumstances from this year will result in combining both ways of organising events in even more successful fundraisings. Digital versions are much cheaper and abilities to gain the public’s attention are endless. Innovation and creativity made a huge jump ahead and this year’s experience will surely pay off in the future.

Piotr Boiwka is a student blogger from the MA in Media and PR at Newcastle University

Children in need – Fundraising during a pandemic

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By Lauren Phoenix

COVID-19 has forced many organisations including ‘Children In Need’ to change and adapt to new ways of working, the organisations that don’t respond and be reactive to the pandemic will fall behind.

According to Charities Aid Foundation during COVID-19, there has been an increase in demand for charity services, however, the donations have dropped over 50%, meaning that fundraising is vital during this time. However, with fundraising events being cancelled ‘Children In Need’ need to clearly communicate new, safe ways people can fundraise following the government’s guidelines. If they create positive meaningful communication with their audience and keep stakeholders engaged and aware this will allow them to meet their fundraising targets.

‘Children In Need’ has adapted to the crisis with new ways of communicating and with a stronger focus on shared and earned media. Despite ‘Children In Need’ having strong relationships with the public, they need to continue to build these relationships online to increase awareness using clear, transparent communication to encourage fundraising and highlight the importance of sponsorships.

Social media is very important for organisations during the pandemic as it allows them to easily connect with audiences and create a sense of community online which is important for relationship building. ‘Children In Need’ state on their website “Good news travels fast on social media – and not only will it keep you connected in difficult times; it might inspire others to donate as well!” (BBC Children in Need, 2020). This highlights the importance of earned media to increase exposure and engagement. COVID-19 has provided the opportunity for change with new relevant ways to communicate and reach new audiences, offering virtual and digital events and this type of communication may be where the future lies.

Lauren Phoenix is a student blogger from the MA in Media and Public Relations at Newcastle University

References:

The coronavirus outbreak and charitable giving | CAF Research (2020). Available at: https://www.cafonline.org/about-us/research/coronavirus-and-charitable-giving (Accessed: 14 November 2020).

BBC Children in Need (2020). Available at: https://www.bbcchildreninneed.co.uk (Accessed: 14 November 2020).

Be an ‘Eco Babe’ and avoid Black Friday sales, they are far from sustainable.

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By Isobel Parker

BRITS were predicted to spend £6bn on Black Friday this year and every brand wants you to spend your money with them by offering a host of unmissable offers and discounts.

But at what point do brands go too far, meaning Black Friday becomes a PR nightmare as oppose to a financial success? [1] A clear example of a Black Friday blunder this year came from fast fashion giant Pretty Little Thing, which offered shoppers an ‘up to 99% off everything’ sale leaving Twitter and the headlines in uproar, perhaps unsurprisingly. Dresses were being sold for as little as 8p and bikini bottoms were available for 5p; these prices would make anyone assume that someone along the production line was being exploited and the sustainability of such a campaign must be questioned.

From a company running a 99% off sale you would imagine that corporate social responsibility was unheard of. However, on googling Pretty Little Thing CSR, you are met with a website page titled Sustainability. The page explains how PLT ‘babes’ can do their bit for the environment, by treating their denim right, making it last longer or by taking part in the PLT ‘ReGain’ project by sending the company their old clothes to recycle and receive a discount on their next purchase.  With fashion contributing to 10% of global Co2 emissions every year and the average person throwing away 31.75kg of clothing per year, how can PLT host this sale and then claim to be fully behind sustainability? [2]

This could be seen as an example of greenwashing, using CSR to mask social irresponsibility and covering up potential malpractice by papering over the cracks of corporate wrongdoing. However, in the days of social media a web page about sustainability is not enough to avoid a Twitter backlash.

Black Friday seemed like a dark day for Pretty Little Thing’s PR with earned and shared media being extremely negative, with mainstream newspapers such as the Guardian sharing their shortcomings. We would expect this to be a major hit in terms of the company’s reputation bank-however, on second glance it appears shoppers were still not deterred and the company managed to generate engagement with over 100, 000 people on a singular giveaway tweet. Although there is a growing movement towards sustainable fashion across the world, it seems it will take more than environmental outrage to deter Black Friday bargain hunters.

#prstudent

[1]https://www.finder.com/uk/black-friday-statistics

[2] https://www.prettylittlething.com/sustainability