Agenda

Welcome back, we hope you had some time off! We’re gearing up for a busy autumn with new projects starting and a trip to The Labour Party conference with the New Statesman. And while we’ve had much-needed breaks, we’ve also been massively productive with Becky Slack and Victoria Barlow cracking out the post-it notes and felt tips to map out our methodology. From #brand strategies to CRM, via media plans, #fundraising campaigns and #crisiscomms, ‘The Agenda Way’ combines our years of experience working in-house and on client projects. Keep an eye out for more info or, better still, let’s find a project to work on together! 📌 The humanitarian disaster in Gaza was pulled into focus in a three-page spread in the magazine Home and Woman. Thanks to our #PR associate Catherine Cooper, it told the story of Dr Ana Jeelani, a surgeon and medical aid volunteer for the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), who had visited the conflict zone earlier this year. 📌 When comms teams are busy with business as usual, we’re on hand for reviews and recommendations. Martin Reid Victoria Barlow and Duncan Robertson are conducting a thorough audit of ASLEF’s member engagement routes, from welcome packs to the website, offering insight and ideas on brand consistency, messaging and ask. 📌 Did you know there’s a chronic shortage of mammographers – the radiographers who deliver breast cancer scans – across the UK meaning there's increasing delays in diagnoses and treatment? Adi Bloom worked with the Society and College of Radiographers (SCoR) on a story to highlight the issue, which was covered by The Guardian, The Telegraph, the Independent and the Daily Mail. 📌 We’ve been helping turn Alzheimer's Research UK organisation strategy and new brand into a media plan, focused on raising awareness of the charity and dementia with core audiences. Victoria Barlow spent time with the comms team sharing the theory as well as practising the tactics. 📌 Regional headlines and radio shows highlighted the heroic fundraising efforts by families and friends of seriously ill and disabled children. This was thanks to our associate Catherine Cooper working her PR charm for the charity Tree of Hope #Thirdsector #Charities #CharityComms #Unions #Members #Memberships #CharityDigital #Elections #NotforProfit #CrisisComms #CommsStrategy #SettingTheAgenda #Strategiccomms #AgendaComms #LabourPartyConference

How to build good relationships with journalists. 👷♀️ An important part of any PR strategy is building good working relationships with journalists. Here, our Agenda associate and former editor and journalist Adi Bloom shares the headlines: 💫 Give them what they need 💫 Let them know you are there 💫 Don't overcommunicate (or undercommunicate) 💫 Don't over-promise 💫 Be wary of 'no comment' 💫 Understand how to write a comment 💫 What does 'off the record' really mean? 💫 Respect deadlines 💫 Be open and honest 💫 Understand the value of a good story 💫 Know your target audience 😱 Also, there are a few things you should avoid doing at all costs. Can you guess what? You can read Adi's full breakdown here. https://lnkd.in/esfRuZYM #PR #StrategicComms #Journalists #Media #CharityComms #ThirdSector #NotForProfit #Comms

How can you build solid foundations for a new CRM? ⚒️ The risk of bringing in a new CRM can be daunting for organisations. But there are four key steps you can take to make the process much less painful: 1️⃣ Always start with your strategic plan 2️⃣ Map out your activities and processes 3️⃣ Dig deeper into each activity and process 4️⃣ Talk to staff, reps, volunteers, supporters, and donors Vic Barlow, Agenda co-director, takes you through each of these steps in this blog. #CharityComms #Unions #CRM #Digital #TechForGood #CommsStrategy #ThirdSector #Audiences #AudienceInsight https://lnkd.in/eBmr3D_H

When thinking about tackling far-right violence taking place across the UK, communicators and policymakers need to work together, says Becky Slack

July: what a month. The rise of the far right in the EU elections and the subsequent snap election in France, the UK Labour landslide and a carousel of political news from America, plus the continuing devastation and turmoil in the Middle East – it's been a busy and sometimes emotional month. 📌 We've invested time and energy to understand what all these events mean and the potential impact on the wider world. Strategies have been adapted, messages reframed and new relationships formed on behalf of clients in the EU and UK. 📌 For the past year, we’ve been supporting the Society and College of Radiographers (SCoR) to demonstrate how decent pay is key to recruiting and retaining more radiographers and fixing the NHS. So it was good to hear Chancellor Rachel Reeves cite this as a reason why the new government is implementing a 5.5% pay increase for NHS staff. Thanks to our PR work, BBC News chose to interview a radiographer as part of a pre-election focus on NHS staff. 📌 We’re delighted to be starting work with two more #unions. Vic and Martin Reid are helping train drivers’ union, ASLEF with its #member engagement while Duncan Robertson has rolled up his sleeves on airline pilots’ union, British Airline Pilots' Association (BALPA) #CRM procurement project. 📌Race and gender equality are always front and centre of our work. Becky spoke at the CIOF Foundation National Convention at a session on “Dismantling Patriarchal Structures in Fundraising,” on behalf Rogare - The Fundraising Think Tank Gender Issues in Fundraising project. She addressed how charities often fail to recognise donor-perpetrated sexual harassment, reframing gender equality so it encourages men to join the movement. https://lnkd.in/eYN8vc9c 📌Becky Slack also shared her thoughts on the impact racism and sexism will impact the comms for Kamala Harris’s new presidential campaign https://shorturl.at/vllQT 📌 Victoria Barlow and Matt Ball enjoyed an evening in the sun with Unions 21 members at their summer party before Vic joined Unions21 executive director, Becky Wright at the launch of UCL Policy Lab and More in Common’s report into how the 2024 UK general election was fought and won. 📌 Our work with Gesher School continues with Joanna Lamb, our newest associate, helping with the school’s fundraising proposals, Sarah Younger’s social media content increasing followers and engagement, and Duncan Robertson improving content on The Gesher Assessment Centre website. 📌Grannies on bikes, rugby superstars, midsummer balls and a car races all secured fundraising coverage for the Tree of Hope thanks to our PR pro Catherine Cooper She also bagged interviews on BBC Local Radio for fundraisers. 📌 And finally... we were thrilled to hear that our ace associate Paulina Lainez Miccolo passed her Masters in International Relations from the IE School of Politics, Economics & Global Affairs in Madrid. We can't wait to watch her fly. Congratulations Paulina.

Is this crucial framework missing from your organisation's comms toolkit? 🚀 A value proposition is an important tool which will have a significant impact on your ability to sell ideas, products, and services to your different audiences. Do you know what a value proposition is and why it is so important? Here, Martin Reid , Agenda senior associate and former director at the Education and Training Foundation, defines what a value proposition is and what it's not, and why it is important. https://lnkd.in/ei2f3Tad #SettingTheAgenda #Agenda #ThirdSector #ValueProposition #MarketResearch #AudienceEngagement #DataAnalytics #CustomerInsight #PersonaDevelopment #MarketingStrategy #NonprofitLeadership

How can a CRM help membership and supporter recruitment? ✅Create an easy route to join or donate online from a webpage which feeds straight into your CRM to give you immediate information on what’s working. ✅Digitise any sign-off procedures to admit new members because reducing paperwork between HQ and branches limits GDPR breaches.  ✅Use onboarding emails to capture further information on members/supporters or make subsequent asks—for example, to collect equality data or highlight a new survey.  ✅Use data to inform your recruitment plans. Use information about people’s roles, interests, geographical location, other memberships etc. This will help you create audience profiles and target your communications with them on the channels and activities they prefer.  A CRM can also help with retention and engagement. @Vic Barlow, Agenda co-director and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers' former director of communications and membership, gives a more detailed walkthrough here: https://lnkd.in/deG5cf2F #CharityComms #Unions #CRM #Digital #TechForGood #CommsStrategy #ThirdSector #Audiences #AudienceInsight

How can you make the most of your manifesto now we have a new government? 💼 The prospect of an election spurred many organisations into creating manifestos, but what can you do with it now? Of course, influencing political policy is crucial, but we would argue that your manifesto's role goes beyond that. It should continue to create greater awareness and build a strong, engaged community of members or supporters. Here, Matt Ball, our senior associate, breaks down how to put this important document to work https://lnkd.in/etnRE-35 #CharityComms #CommsStrategy #ThirdSector #Policy #Unions #membership #StrategicComms

How can your organisations build relationships with new MPs? 🤝 A striking aspect of the general election result is the sheer number of new Members of Parliament with no prior parliamentary experience. These 334 MPs will be learning the ropes and finding their way in their newly elected roles – and this has implications for the way charities, trade unions and membership organisations engage with the new parliament. Given the churn in the House of Commons, it’s worth thinking about a range of ways to reach and influence individual MPs. In part two of his blog looking at navigating the new government Matt Ball shares different strategies for building stronger relationships with MPs https://lnkd.in/ev-KE3km #CommsStrategy #Charities #Unions #Westminster #PublicPolicy #SettingTheAgenda #Elections #CommsStrategies

How can you navigate the new Labour government ⛵ What steps should your organisation be taking to work with the incoming government? Here we look at the new landscape and how to set yourself up for greater influence. For the first time in 14 years, there’s a total change of government – a new Prime Minister, a new cabinet and new ministers across every department. Only a handful of the new team have previous ministerial experience, though they are being supported by peers who were ministers in the last Labour government. In our latest blog, Matt Ball Agenda’s senior associate, outlines how to work with the new government on its policy agenda. https://lnkd.in/dq99Y8es #CommsStrategy #Charities #Unions #Westminster #PublicPolicy #SettingTheAgenda #Elections #CommsStrategies