Hello hello there!
Summer arrived with a bang in May, and with so many events taking place, sunny days were very welcome. From Ireland’s Best Baker with Gala Retail Ireland’s Best Baker: The PR recipe that rose to the top - rnn communications at the incredible Airfield Estate, to photocalls for client sponsorships, numerous TV and press features, new business meetings, awards, and a team event to celebrate 10 years of Jill at RNN, May has been a busy one.
New business is always welcome and after many years, we still don’t have this sussed, but we’re getting better.
We approach new business with chemistry meetings, understanding what new contacts need and how we can contribute, explaining about what we do and how we work, and approx costs. BUT we no longer create PR plans.
WHY? Time is our currency. Unlike many businesses, we don’t sell widgets or goods, we sell our time. So when we spend time working on a new business, researching the market, creating the plan, allocating two days of someone’s time – that results in two days of unpaid work. This simply isn't sustainable. We’ve spent many a month being manic but not earning fees by completing new business requests, and this benefits no one.
We have the clients, the awards, the results and the track-record to give people confidence in our work so if our initial meeting goes well, a budget has been allocated to PR, and we have an agreement to proceed and work together with a new client, we’re all in - 100%.
New PR pathways: I’m so delighted to welcome 19-year-old Brianna to RNN. Brianna is studying for a Higher-Level Apprenticeship (HLA) in Digital Marketing, Advertising and Communications and her energy, enthusiasm for learning, and bright and breezy demeanour is a pleasure to have around.
Brianna approached us, she wants to learn more and broaden her understanding of communications. We love young people who take their futures into their own hands, and to have a truly digital native team member is really valuable to us. Brianna can learn so much during her time at RNN, but we can also learn so much from her - e.g. check out Brianna's latest blog post on TikTok - Mastering TikTok: The Brand Survival Guide - rnn communications
The route into PR life was often pretty structured, requiring a degree in PR, communications, marketing or an associated subject but times are changing - thankfully! Our skill set is also evolving, but a few traits are constant: good grammar, a curious mind, desire to learn, fast and agile and bucket loads of common sense.
Brianna has already been creating some great content for us so keep posted on our social channels for more of Brianna’s work. To read more about Brianna, here’s her welcome blog: https://rnncommunications.com/blog/hi-im-brianna/
Fetch Ireland 2.0 - fetch is our micro-influencers platform that connects brands with micro-influencers in Ireland – fetch Ireland | Where influencers and brands unite - Influencer Marketing Agency Northern Ireland & Ireland . We launched fetch in 2021 and over the past four years, we’ve delivered hundreds of product drops on behalf of big brands, local players and hospitality providers, and created bespoke campaigns.
A couple of years ago, we commissioned SEO work and this still pays off. We receive enquiries from across the globe regularly asking to know more about fetch and its services, many of which we convert, some of which we don’t.
As a digital service and with the speed at which technology is evolving, we felt that the time was right to conduct a deep dive into fetch, see what aspects of the app were performing and how we can elevate our offering. In a quest to continuously improve our services, we’re working on the next iteration of fetch Ireland. We have worked with a super savvy tech expert over the past six weeks to cast an expert eye on what fetch is and how it can be improved. Next steps are to take these recommendations, invest in fetch’s future and make fetch Ireland 2.0 as good as it can be. Watch this space.
All about AI - AI is everywhere. From being at the top of meeting agendas, to the hot topic at conferences, the focus of podcasts, and the lead article in newsletters - it’s hard to avoid AI, and even more difficult to understand how AI can impact your business.
One thing is for sure… AI is changing the game. The pace of its sophistication is staggering. AI can handle tasks twice as complex as today every few months. The horse has bolted, and although we’re a little terrified too, we either lean into the learnings and use of AI, or ignore it at our peril.
So many AI tools are useful in our day-to-day roles, from idea creation to handling large quantities of data, but key is that we use AI as a starting point. There’s no emotion with AI, the element of humanity is non-existent, and in a profession that reads the zeitgeist and context, this is where our value lies.
AI spotting now seems to be a sport with many people calling out others on their use of AI. How do they know… number one is that the text often lacks personality. Other obvious signs are that the copy uses lots of words that mean very little, adopts a formal tone, use of repetitive phrasing, and a lack of personal anecdotes or emotional depth. People view AI-generated text less favourably - fact.
For us, it’s hugely important that we continue to learn as AI evolves. We need to educate our clients, be transparent in our use of AI, and adjust our services - and our prices - accordingly. That’s why back in June 2024, we launched our AI charter: https://rnncommunications.com/blog/rnn-launches-our-ai-charter/
Next up is more formalised learning. Many of the team have already studied elements of AI, and last November, I completed a diploma in Artificial Intelligence & reputation leadership. I’m now part of the first cohort of students studying with the AI Collaboration Centre - Driving Value from AI – which is due to be completed next month…I’ll report back accordingly.
That’s all for now. May is almost done and dusted. We’ve got an action-packed June in-store, including managing five store openings in GB for a previous client. There’s some time in the sun in-store and as always, we’ll continue to spin the plates, manage the challenges in-store and keep our eyes open for new opportunities.
Wishing you a super month ahead.
If you’ve any questions on the above or would like to get in touch, my inbox is always open: riki@rnncommunications.com
For now, it’s over and out.
Riki
