<?page no="0"?> with over 70 experts Lydia Prexl Communications Guide for Startups How to Win Customers, Investors, and new Talent through Inspiring Messaging <?page no="1"?> Communications Guide for Startups <?page no="2"?> Lydia Prexl has been responsible for corpo‐ rate communications at startups since 2019. For Getsafe, she built the communications function from the ground up; in 2022 she moved to Unzer. Before that, she worked as a communicator for numerous other companies. <?page no="3"?> Lydia Prexl Communications Guide for Startups How to Win Customers, Investors, and new Talent through Inspiring Messaging UVK Verlag · München <?page no="4"?> DOI: https: / / doi.org/ 10.24053/ 9783739882185 © UVK Verlag 2022 ‒ ein Unternehmen der Narr Francke Attempto Verlag GmbH + Co. KG Dischingerweg 5 · D-72070 Tübingen Das Werk einschließlich aller seiner Teile ist urheberrechtlich geschützt. 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Internet: www.narr.de eMail: info@narr.de CPI books GmbH, Leck ISBN 978-3-7398-3218-0 (Print) ISBN 978-3-7398-8218-5 (ePDF) ISBN 978-3-7398-0614-3 (ePub) Umschlagabbildung: © anilakkus · iStock Avatare im Buch: © faisafvrr Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über http: / / dnb.dnb.de abrufbar. www.fsc.org MIX Papier aus verantwortungsvollen Quellen FSC ® C083411 ® www.fsc.org MIX Papier aus verantwortungsvollen Quellen FSC ® C083411 ® <?page no="5"?> 13 15 1 31 1.1 32 1.2 37 1.3 40 1.4 45 2 51 2.1 52 2.2 61 2.3 73 3 89 3.1 90 3.2 95 3.3 109 4 113 4.1 114 4.2 123 4.3 127 Contents List of Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Experts at a Glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . On the Why and How of Startup Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . Public Relations from a Scientific Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . Why Startup Founders Should Invest in PR - Answers from a Founder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Communications as a Strategic Management Function . . . Why Strategic Communication Makes a Difference in Times of Growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Is that still PR? Related Disciplines of Corporate Communication On the Difference Between Marketing and Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How to Make the Most of Brand in Communications . . . . Employer Branding - from Why to How . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Organisational Challenges for Communication Teams in Startups How to Build Great PR Teams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How to Master International PR to Locally Adapt, Centrally Align and Come Out on Top . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Working with PR Agencies - From Coexistence to Collaboration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PR, Yes, But How? From Strategy, Tactics, and Monitoring . . . . . The Secrets of Positioning Your Company Through Corporate PR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Growing Your Reputation Through Your Corporate Narrative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PR Strategy - Aim for Goals, Stick to Targets . . . . . . . . . . . <?page no="6"?> 4.4 132 4.5 140 4.6 143 4.7 147 5 151 5.1 153 5.2 161 5.3 168 5.4 179 5.5 187 5.6 191 5.7 199 5.8 201 5.9 206 6 211 6.1 212 6.2 218 6.3 223 6.4 233 6.5 236 7 243 7.1 245 7.2 249 7.3 254 PR Tactics - Power-Up Your Plan of Action . . . . . . . . . . . . PR Campaigns - Launching Engagement, Landing Impact PR Controlling - Measuring What Matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . Understanding Copyright and Media Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Peculiarities and Intricacies of Startup Communication . . . . Achieving Promotional Targets with Product Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Encourage and Engage Through Meaningful Consumer PR How and Why Investor Communication Is Critical to Your Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Funding Communication - The Centerpiece to Raise Awareness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Launch Communication - Raise Some Eyebrows, Attract Your Audience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Secrets of IPO Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What to Talk About and Not Talk About in B2B Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Building Trust and Expertise Through CEO Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Get Leading Edge! Why Thought Leadership Is Vital To Your Communication Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How Do I Get in the Paper? The Art of Media Relations . . . . . . . Lessons from “the Other Side”: Helping Startups Build Relationships, Campaigns, and Wield Their Communications Know-How . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How to Work with Journalists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How to Pitch Best to Journalists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Understanding Business Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Why Your Headshots and PR Photos Suck, and How to Fix It From TikTok to Twitter: Social Media Communication . . . . . . . . The Power of Communicating the Brand Through Social Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How to Be Successful on LinkedIn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How to Be Successful on Twitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Contents <?page no="7"?> 7.4 258 7.5 263 7.6 271 8 275 8.1 276 8.2 280 8.3 287 8.4 292 9 297 9.1 298 9.2 302 9.3 307 10 313 10.1 314 10.2 326 10.3 329 10.4 334 10.5 338 10.6 344 351 How to Be Successful on Instagram and Facebook . . . . . . Engaging Consumers, Encouraging Interaction - How to Build a B2B Social Media Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Visuals Matter - Photography and Videography for Social Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Pitfalls and Triumphs of Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How to Pitch Best to Conferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Plan … Action … Showcase! Organising External Events . Setting Tone and Stage for Great Internal Events . . . . . . . . Moderating Discussions and Talks Professionally . . . . . . . . Public Affairs & Crisis Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Building Relations and Maintaining Reputations Through Strong Public Affairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Preparing for Pressure - Why Crisis Communication is Highly Relevant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mastering Corporate PR in Critical Situations - What E- Scooters Can Teach Us . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . From the Inside Out - Why Good Corporate Communication Starts with the Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting Up Internal Communication to Unite and Inform Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . From Strategy to Channels - Creating Your Internal Communication Recipe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Challenges of Internal Communication in Times of Growth and Internationalisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Staying Connected - The Influence of Internal Communication on the Company Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . Internal Change and Crisis Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . The Critical Role of Clear and Transparent Leadership Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Keywords, Names, Companies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Contents <?page no="9"?> Preface by Robert Bueninck For startups, effective communication is the first step toward success. It is the foundation for becoming more well-known, establishing a reputation, and so persuading financiers and employees. No two bosses are alike; no two boundary conditions are really identical. This is as true for startups as for any other company. And yet those responsible for communications in startups often face similar challenges and a comparable working environment. Startups change continuously; they are under high pressure to succeed, they often plan in quarters, and when things go well, they grow enormously fast. Due to the short history of the company and a usually very manageable product offering, communications managers can rarely “draw on the full resources” and have to create their own communications events - usually with no or only a very small budget. Unzer is a merger company from a number of startups that have all gone through similar challenges. Our challenge is bringing these different messages together into one. At the same time, we are still a new company and a new brand with now a complicated product offering. As the wellknown US investor Ben Horowitz points out, “as a company grows, its biggest challenge always becomes communications”. Given this challenge, it is surprising that there is hardly any systematic advice on how startups - or scale-ups - can retain and win talent and convince customers, investors, and partners through their messaging. This book provides first-hand insights. Lydia Prexl has brought together communications professionals from all over Europe and lets external and internal communications staff, journalists, and many other experts from the startup scene have their say. The emphasis is on practise rather than theory, for which great textbooks exist. In a startup, how is communication organised? What are the thematic focal points? How are communication objectives established, and how is success measured? What are the secrets to effective press relations success, and how can communications managers know if they're doing a good job internally? How do you develop an intranet and strong internal communication channels without a budget, and how do you meet the founders' and management's high expectations? <?page no="10"?> This book aims to answer these and many other questions directly from the world of startups. Such a book does not exist yet - Lydia and all coauthors enter new territory. It is a work that looks behind the scenes into the heads of press officers, media representatives and founders. As a CEO, I know the power of storytelling and communication. I know how important it is to communicate well across the Board, to employees and to all stakeholders. I know from experience that it's not easy. It's hard work. You need to keep a story consistent and clear while continuing to sound genuine. The story needs to be stable, but you should be nimble enough to change it with the change of times and the environment. Not easy, but the rewards are great when you get it right. I hope that the book will find many enthusiastic readers. It offers authentic learning, instructive tips, and concrete examples; it does not gloss over and shows solutions for many of the communication challenges of startups. In short, it's a win-win for anyone interested in communication - and by that, I don't just mean people from the startup environment, but all people who want to communicate professionally with stakeholders and convince others. Robert Bueninck CEO Unzer 10 Preface by Robert Bueninck <?page no="11"?> Preface by Lydia Prexl When I started as a press officer at a startup in January 2019, it was a leap in the dark. In all my previous jobs, I had a client or a boss who made the decisions, who would stick their neck out if I made a mistake. Suddenly no one knew more about communication than I did - yet I felt completely unprepared and ignorant. The expectations for external communications were high, and at the same time, there was nothing for me to build on. It was more like a field than a green field. It quickly became apparent that my prior experience in corporate groups, at medium-sized companies, as a freelancer, and as a lecturer was of little value to me. And that communications managers from these areas couldn't help me. Startups tick differently; they are fast, expectations are high, and budgets and employees are scarce. Generalists are in demand, who communicate highly professionally to the outside world - and often internally as well - and therefore need to acquire solid expert knowledge very quickly. Is the best time for a LinkedIn post on Tuesday morning or Wednesday afternoon? What's the use of the blog? Why does competitor Z end up in the business paper despite having a worse product? What is the point of PR in the first place? Which tools are useful? Why does journalist Y ask such critical questions? And why do we need internal communication? These and similar questions are likely familiar to most startup communi‐ cations managers. I also encounter them regularly, and there is not always a simple answer. I started asking other colleagues from startups for advice. The response was overwhelming; even among competitors, there was a willingness to help one another. For me, the most amazing thing was that I wasn't alone with my questions and challenges. This book was born out of this realisation. It is an attempt to pool the knowledge of much more experienced colleagues from the startup world to help all those jumping in at the deep end like me almost four years ago. Nonetheless, this book has much more meaning to me because it is a collaborative effort that I could never have produced alone. The mere thought became a reality solely because so many wonderful people got carried away and contributed to it - without any ifs and buts. I am deeply impressed by the willingness of others to help each other, share difficult experiences, and be there for one another. Working in a <?page no="12"?> startup means more than just having an exciting job. It also means being part of a community that can reach out to each other and fight together for a greater cause. So at this point, I would like to say thank you. Thank you to everyone who gave me advice and to all the co-authors who are now filling this book with content. My very special thanks to my family for supporting me, having my back, and giving me the freedom to passionately pursue a project like this book. Thomas, Jacob and Raphael, this book is dedicated to you. Lydia Prexl 12 Preface by Lydia Prexl <?page no="13"?> List of Abbreviations AVE | Advertising Value Equivalent B2B | Business to Business B2C | Business to Consumer CAC | Customer Acquisition Cost CEO | Chief Executive Officer D&I | Diversity & Inclusion EB | Employer Branding ESG | Environmental Social Governance EVP | Employee Value Proposition GR | Governmental Relations H2H | Human to Human HR | Human Resources KPI | Key Performance Indicator IC | Internal Communication IPO | Initial Public Offering IR | Investor Relations NPS | Net Promotor Score OKR | Objectives and Key Results PA | Public Affairs PR | Public Relations ROI | Return on Investment SEO | Search Engine Optimization VC | Venture Capital USP | Unique Selling Proposition <?page no="15"?> The Experts at a Glance Maria Andersen | Internal Communications Manager | ex-Sennder | → 10.4 Maria has a well-rounded background in corporate communications and marketing. After earning her Master's degree in corporate communication from Aarhus School of Business, she took on various jobs as a content writer before landing her first job abroad at an international travel tech company. It was at the same company that she got the chance to join a global internal communications team. Since then, she has been working in various roles within the field of employee engagement, culture, community management, as well as consulting with teams and leads on communication various matters. Oliver Aust | CEO and Founder of Eo Ipso Communications | → 5.8 Oliver is one of Europe's leading communications advisors. He is the CEO of Eo Ipso Communications, hosts the category-defining “Speak like a CEO” podcast and has written four books on CEO and startup communications. He has frequently been at the frontline of some of the most high-profile reputational challenges in Europe and can draw on his personal experience of helping scale easyJet to a multi-billion-dollar company. Katia Ballano Göring | PR & Communications Manager at ID Finance | → 4.4 Katia is an experienced multilingual strategic communications consultant and journalist with a strong focus on finance, reputational crisis manage‐ ment, and content marketing. Before joining ID Finance as a PR and communications manager, she worked as a consultant for one of Spain's most renowned communications consultancy firms. As a former journalist, Katia is well versed in researching and addressing complex subjects, writing news features that offer sector-specific insights and providing relevant analysis. Chiara Baroni | PR and Communications Manager for Germany, Austria and Swizerland at Revolut | → 5.2 Chiara has worked in the German PR industry for over ten years - mostly in the PR agency business and since the end of 2018 on the corporate side. She currently works for the British FinTech Revolut and is responsible for <?page no="16"?> the company's entire communication in the German-speaking region - from finance to product and brand PR. Julia Barthel | Director at Brunswick Group | → 4.2 Julia Barthel is a Director at Brunswick Group based in Berlin. She advises digital industry clients on navigating their corporate and political commu‐ nications challenges. Julia has a proven record in various strategic comms areas such as government affairs, crisis comms, PR and positioning with a strong focus on the digital economy. She is passionate about regulatory issues around digitisation, including competition, privacy, media policy and platform regulation. Hemmo Bosscher | Head of Communications at Adyen | → 5.6 Hemmo is Adyen's communications chief. Following a degree in English literature, he grew up on the communications industry's corporate side - at an Amsterdam agency. Following a four-year stint, Hemmo was referred to Adyen by a friend, and he quit his job the same day he was interviewed. At Adyen, Hemmo built the communications and investor relations functions and was responsible for the equity story and investor marketing during our six-month IPO track. Dr. Lucas Brost | Media Lawyer at Brost Claßen | → 4.7 Lucas is a media lawyer at the law firm Brost Claßen, Cologne, in Germany. He advises clients on all media law issues, especially startups and companies on crisis communication and litigation PR. Callum Burroughs | Senior Tech Reporter at Insider | → 6.2 Callum is a senior reporter for Insider (formerly Business Insider), covering all things startup and VC related with a focus on fintech. He has been with the company for around 3.5 years. Marina Burtyleva | Internal Communications and Employer Branding Lead at Vivid Money | ex-N26 | → 2.3 Marina, born in one of the coldest places in the world (Siberia), works as an internal communications and employer branding lead at Vivid Money. Before, she was Senior Employer Branding Partner at N26. She looks back to over ten years of branding experience in various industries, from medicine to luxury weddings in Russia and the United Arab Emirates. 16 The Experts at a Glance <?page no="17"?> Dr. Katharina Buttenberg | Senior Vice President Global Brand at Hello‐ Fresh | → 2.2 Katharina is Senior Vice President Global Brand at HelloFresh, and, in this role, she is responsible for market research, brand strategy, marketing com‐ munications, and the creative, photo and video studio. Before HelloFresh, she built and rebuilt brands at several digital companies and wrote her doctorate on the emergence of brands in startups. Maïwenn Charpentier | Internal Communications Manager at Omio | → 10.5 Maïwenn was born in France but grew up with her family in Spain, with both languages and cultures. Having lived in four countries and speaking many languages has helped her navigate the world through connections and communication - which is also a great benefit in her professional life as internal communications manager. She studied marketing and commu‐ nications back in France and moved to Sweden for her first job in internal communications. In 2019, Maïwenn moved to Berlin and now works for Omio. Jessie Claar | Global Internal Communications Manager | → 10.2 Jessie is currently working as internal communications manager at Kry in Stockholm, Sweden. She is a natural networker and strong communicator with experience in driving impactful and engaging internal communications agendas. Jessie has worked for international businesses and brands and for startups and large global corporations, where she gained both strategic and operational experience. Henning Dorstewitz | Director PR & Communications at Unstoppable Finance | → 3.1 Henning is a dual citizen of Germany - his first home - and Australia - his second home. He has built and led several communications teams throughout his career and was responsible for a broad spectrum of topics - from PR to content, social media, sponsorships, community and stakeholder engagement and events. Having started in the travel industry, Henning moved into the tech space and worked at companies such as Google, Twitter and YouTube. His love for films and series brought Henning to Netflix, and his passion for everything web3 led him to where he is today: Director of PR and Communications at Unstoppable Finance. 17 The Experts at a Glance <?page no="18"?> Sigrid Dubois | Global PR and Communications Director at Ankorstore | → 2.2 Sigrid is passionate about brand marketing, communication and innovation. She is half German, half Austrian, and has been living in Paris for 17 years. Sigrid is part of the Global Brand and Marketing team at Ankorstore, where she helps to create brand awareness across Europe. Bianca Dumschat | B2B Social Media Manager at Doctolib | → 7.5 Bianca has been doing social media marketing for about four years now. In 2021, she joined Doctolib, which allows her to combine her love for tech and social and health. Before she got into social media, she studied business administration majoring in marketing at the University of Cologne. Lavinia Eastwood | Global Event Manager at Mollie | → 8.2 Lavinia is the global event manager at Mollie, a fintech company based in Amsterdam. She started her career in London, working as an intern on events for Audi and went on to lead brand and event teams at several startups and scale-up organisations. She has also worked as a freelancer for Shell and various private clients. Christoph Egels | Public Affairs Lead at Flink | → 9.1 After studying International Relations and European Politics at the Univer‐ sity of Bamberg and at Aston University in Birmingham, Christoph started his career in the Corporate Affairs Team at Amazon in Munich. He then moved to MSL in Berlin to make his first steps in public affairs. After two and a half years, the startup world called and he joined Voi, where he built city and stakeholder relations from scratch and founded Plattform Shared Mobility. Since September 2022, he has led a small public affairs team at Flink. Sam Evans | Partner at Eos Venture Partners | → 5.3 Sam is Partner at Eos Venture Partners (Eos) based in London and has been investing in InsurTech since 2016. Eos is a global independent Strategic Venture Capital Fund focused exclusively on InsurTech, investing in early and growth-stage technology businesses that accelerate innovation and transformation across the insurance industry and value chain. Emma-Victoria Farr | European M&A Correspondent at Reuters | → 6.2 Emma-Victoria is an experienced journalist with a decade of breaking news at international newswires and national newspapers, with specialist 18 The Experts at a Glance <?page no="19"?> knowledge of business journalism and German-speaking countries, and a command of several foreign languages. Since 2021, she works as a financial journalist at Thomson Reuters. Previously, Emma-Victoria worked at trade publication Mergermarket for seven years. Bettina Fries | Senior Communications Advisor, Founder of Fries Consult‐ ing | → 5.6 Bettina has been working as a consultant for strategic and financial commu‐ nications for about 20 years, many of them at well-known consultancies. But she also knows the corporate side from her time as Head of Communications and Marketing at a renewable energy company, for which she built up these two functions after the IPO. Since 2015, Bettina has built her own business - Fries Consulting - and now works in a broad network with many experienced and young colleagues. Itziar García | Communications Director for Spain and Portugal at BlaBla‐ Car | → 3.3 Itziar is the Communications Director for BlaBlaCar in Spain and Portugal. She studied business sciences and specialised in actuarial and financial sci‐ ences to work in the insurance industry. However, she later realised this was not her world. She chose to pursue a second career in advertising and public relations. After finishing her second master's degree in communications management, she started to work in agencies, where BlaBlaCar was one of her clients. When Itziar was offered to join the BlaBlaCar team more than four years ago, she didn't hesitate for a second. Youssef Gasmi | Communications Manager at Voodoo | → 3.2 Born in Casablanca, Morocco, Youssef did a BA in social anthropology followed by an MSc in entrepreneurship, management and innovation at Imperial College London before going back to live and work in Paris, where he had gone to school. During his first year at university, he and two good friends from high school came up with an app destined for tourists called “BeSafe! ”, which he successfully sold seven years later. Today, Youssef manages communications for Voodoo. Jessica Hashemi | Senior Social Media Manager at Checkout.com | → 7.5 Jessica is a B2B social media manager with eight years of experience in the tech and startup ecosystem. She bounced around various industries, from edtech to proptech, before settling on fintech. Jessica was social media manager at 11: FS in 2019 and led organic social at Checkout.com for the past 19 The Experts at a Glance <?page no="20"?> two years. She lives in West London and spends most of her time trying new restaurants, travelling or mixing martinis (a skill she picked up in lockdown). Bettina Hausmann | Founder and Director of bhconsult | → 10.6 Bettina's job is to help senior professionals to succeed as strategists, com‐ municators, and leaders. She has worked with CEOs, chairs of the board, politicians, and other senior professionals from over 100 countries, help‐ ing them develop their signature presence, master their communications, manage their reputation, and build resilience. Her mission is always the same: to help leaders grow when it gets tough. Prior to setting up her own business ten years ago, Bettina worked for many years as a director in a communications agency. Malena Heed | Global Communications Director at Einride | → 4.1 For more than a decade, Malena has been doing PR for leading tech companies and startups such as iZettle and Uber. She's currently the global Communications Director at Einride, a freight tech startup offering electric and autonomous shipping. During her time at Einride, the company grew from 50 to 500 people and expanded into the US and Europe. Dr. Clara Herdeanu | Head of Communications at Xayn | → 4.6 As Head of Communications at the AI startup Xayn, Clara is responsible for all (inter)national PR and communications. In the past, she has commu‐ nicated for high-growth tech companies such as Mozilla, Alteryx, Open- Xchange, and StackOverflow at an international PR agency as well as for a traditional German world market leader. With a PhD in linguistics on the relationship between language, media, politics and power, Clara is an avid analyser of how media shapes our world views and decision-making. Christian Hillemeyer | Director of Communications at Babbel | → 5.1 Christian has been in communications for almost 15 years. In his case, rather involuntarily via music, but the topic of PR never let him go. After working for MTV, nugg.ad/ Deutsche Post and Payleven/ Rocket Internet, he has now been responsible for communications at Babbel for eight years. Svenja Hoya | Marketing Communications Lead at Trade Republic | → 2.1 Svenja has spent the past ten years working in PR and communications in the agency, startup, and corporate world. She knows both early-stage and hypergrowth startups and now works for Trade Republic. Svenja was born and raised in Berlin, has a little daughter and is also co-organiser of the "Berliner 20 The Experts at a Glance <?page no="21"?> PR Stammtisch", a Berlin-based network event for everyone working in the communications industry. Kristen Jäggi | Event Planner (various startups) | → 8.2 Kristen is passionate about all things events. She has worked with a variety of startups, including her own failed startup, Venue Scout. Kristen looks back on over 18 years of industry experience managing events from concept to on-site. Mats Joosten | Senior PR Manager at Back Market | → 3.2 Mats is currently working as Senior PR Manager at Back Market, a leading marketplace for refurbished devices. Before joining Back Market, Mats worked for more than four years as a PR & Communications manager for the French mobility and sharing economy startups Drivy (acquired by Getaround) and BlaBlaCar, coordinating and leading the PR efforts for the German market. Simon Kenyon | Head of Internal Communications at PayU | → 8.3 Simon started out as a headhunter, where he developed the art of forming new relationships and building trust before a customer hired him in 2003 to partner on human change and communication for internal global IT projects. Since then, he has developed his passion for all things communications. Simon stands for ownership, empathy and openness. His energy source is interacting with different cultures and has even be known to dabble in stand-up comedy. Dr. Juliane Kiesenbauer | Director Marketing & Communications for Germany, Austria and Switzerland at Staffbase | → 4.5 With over 13 years of PR and marketing experience, Juliane is currently the director of marketing and communications for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland at Staffbase, headquartered out of Chemnitz, Germany. In her current role, Juliane has built out a regional team of marketers and serves as a strategic leader in the organisation. Blending an analytical, data-driven approach with creativity, a roll-up-your-sleeves attitude, and a penchant for strategic planning, she has used her PR and marketing acumen to drive the business forward. Ben Kilbey | Chief Communications Officer (CCO) at Britishvolt | → 5.7 Ben is Director of Communications and Media Relations at Britishvolt. He had a successful career in journalism spanning travel writing and financial 21 The Experts at a Glance <?page no="22"?> writing - spending the last 13 years of that journey at S&P Global where he progressed to being more of a relationship manager and biz developer. Ben has always been in communications in some way, shape or form. Now he is a fully-fledged communications professional and enjoys every second and experience. Jovana Krcevinac | Global Internal Communications Project Manager at Glovo | → 10.1 Jovana is a Barcelona-based global internal communications project man‐ ager at Glovo. She has worked in the startup world for the past few years and is passionate about creating and driving high-impact communication initiatives that empower the business and engage with global and diverse workforces. Jovana's scope of interests includes strategic communication, crisis and change communication, cross-cultural communication, organisa‐ tional culture and employee engagement. In a nutshell, she loves navigating through innovation, creativity, and change! Valentina Kristensen | Director Growth and Communications at Oak‐ North | → 2.1 Valentina is the Director of Growth and Communications at OakNorth. She has been working with OakNorth almost since the beginning of its journey in the Summer of 2015 when it was just 40 people - today, it is c.800 globally. Valentina is half Danish and half Greek with settled status in the UK. Anna-Lena Kümpel | Freelance Moderator and Coach | → 8.4 Anna-Lena is a professional moderator and moderation trainer with a background in startup journalism and startup network building. Since July 2021, she has been working full-time as a facilitator and facilitation trainer. Anna-Lena's favourite topics include innovation, digital, entrepreneurship, personal development and new work. Andrew Kyle | Senior Employer Branding Manager at Gorillas | → 2.3 Andrew has worked in Human Resources for ten years. The native Canadian has been living in Berlin for four years, where he built up the candidate experience function at N26, among others, and was responsible for the company's employer branding activities. In the summer of 2021, he joined Gorillas as senior talent brand manager and supported the company in its hyper-growth phase. 22 The Experts at a Glance <?page no="23"?> Greg Latham | Freelance Filmmaker and Videographer | → 7.6 Greg is a Berlin-based filmmaker and has been creating visual content for startups and other clients for almost ten years. He also works as a director and producer for a London-based production company, helping produce and direct documentary content for clients in the arts sector. Before Greg moved into the world of video production, he worked in communications for a Berlin-based startup and therefore knows what kind of messaging and content can be especially effective. Tom Levine | Director at Brunswick Group | → 4.2 Tom is heading and building the Digital Team at Brunswick in Germany as part of the Global Digital Team of almost 40 colleagues spread around the globe. He advises Brunswick's clients and Brunswick's teams on digital strategy and positioning, content and platforms, distribution and search, influencer and stakeholder management, and awareness and measuring. Tom is a highly experienced communication consultant with a strong back‐ ground in journalism, content marketing, digital and brand communication. Mikko Mäntylä | President at Slush | → 8.1 Mikko, a 25-year-old Finn, is President of Slush - the world's leading startup event. In his role, Mikko oversees the core audiences, programme, and entertainment planning and development teams - as well as the new products Soaked by Slush (media), Node by Slush (community), and Slush'D (global events). He is driven by impatience, an endless curiosity for great people and smart ideas, as well as a belief that building tech companies is the most efficient way to solve hard problems in the world. Elisheva Marcus | VP Communications at Earlybird Venture Capital | → 5.3 Elisheva calls herself a bicoastal American now living in Berlin, Germany. She has had an international path by way of Israel, Argentina and Canada and maybe because of that circuitous route, she loves storytelling and networking - especially documenting founder and startup journeys. With a Master of Science in biomedical communications, she has worked in graphics departments of museums, newspapers, publishers and advertisers, in a startup, an accelerator, and a company builder. Since 2020, Elisheva has been working for Earlybird, aiming to convey complex processes clearly. 23 The Experts at a Glance <?page no="24"?> Sarah Maulhardt | Lead Internal Communications at GetYourGuide | ex- Zalando | → 10.3 Sarah leads the internal communications team for GetYouGuide. Before that, she worked as internal communications manager within Zalando's corporate affairs team. During her master's degree in communications management, she discovered her passion for strategic - especially internal - corporate communications. Both at GetYourGuide and Zalando, Sarah immerses herself in her favourite daily topics: change communication, employee involvement and participation, social intranet and corporate strategy. Sara Morić | Global Comms Lead at LimeWire | ex-Bitpanda | → 5.5 Sara is an experienced PR, Comms and social media strategist, profoundly delving into all things digital. Not knowing much about blockchain and its technology, she never imagined working in the crypto world a few years ago. However, having supported the global communications team for Europe's biggest cryptocurrency exchange Bitpanda and more recently leading communications for the NFT platform LimeWire, Sara has found her niche. Heather Moses | Senior Vice President of Marketing at Nexthink | → 7.1 As Senior Vice President Marketing for Nexthink, Heather is responsible for brand awareness, communications, category creation and field marketing globally. She studied journalism at Northeastern University and was a writer for many years before discovering the world of software marketing. Since then Heather has led international marketing teams at numerous software companies looking to grow and scale globally. Heather is currently driving growth and brand at Nexthink, a global provider of digital employee experience management software. Max Mundhenke | Associate Digital Strategy at Brunswick Group | → 7.3 Max studied sociology and media science in Bielefeld and landed - via some detours - in digital consulting. Since 2020, he has been part of the international digital team at Brunswick Group in Berlin and advises companies that want to communicate in the German social media landscape. His duties range from product advertising to targeted CEO positioning. Arsenia Nikolaeva | Head of PR & Communications at SumUp | → 3.2 Arsenia was born in Russia and brought up in Ireland. For more than a decade, she has focused on communication and Public Relations for tech 24 The Experts at a Glance <?page no="25"?> companies with a global footprint. Since 2018 she has headed the European PR & Communications team for SumUp. She is passionate about using technology for good and strongly believes that technology can create a level playing field for minorities and disadvantaged groups. As an advocate for female leadership, diversity, and inclusion, those are important topics to Arsenia, especially regarding the technology and financial sectors. Meike Ostermeier | Associate Director at FGS Global | → 1.4 As associate director at FGS Global, Meike supports companies in situations that are critical to their reputation. Often, these are startups or tech companies that bring new ideas to the market, for which they must create acceptance. Meike likes to think from the end, develop solutions, and help companies think beyond the internal perspective. Martin Perlin | Director of Marketing Communications at DriveNets | → 7.2 Martin serves as the Director of Marketing Communications at DriveNets, a leader in cloud-native networking software and network disaggregation solutions. Bringing his talents as a storyteller, he develops and implements an integrated strategic communications approach that advances brand identity, broadens awareness, and increases visibility across key stakeholder audiences. Florestan Peters | Field Marketing Manager at SoSafe | → 5.9 Florestan is a marketing manager at SoSafe, a cybersecurity SaaS scale-up based in Cologne, Germany. After finishing his master's in political science at the University of Amsterdam in the summer of 2019, he joined SoSafe as their first communications manager in a hyper-growth phase. In less than one and a half years, the team increased fivefold - with interesting challenges for communications. Boris Radke | VP Corporate Affairs at Omio | → 1.3 Boris runs Corporate Affairs at Omio in Berlin and also advises startups on how to set up their communication functions. He loves building teams for startups with a purpose, and he supports other startups to have meaningful conversations with their customers (internal or external) and build great relationships with partners and stakeholders. 25 The Experts at a Glance <?page no="26"?> Dr. Andre Retterath | Partner at Earlybird Venture Capital - Investor Communications | → 5.3 Andre is Partner at Earlybird Venture Capital based in Munich, looking to partner with the most ambitious tech entrepreneurs. He is a mechatronics engineer with a focus on computer science and spent about five years at ThyssenKrupp before completing his master's degree and PhD on the topic of “Machine Learning and the Value of Data in Venture Capital”. Ever since he joined Earlybird in 2017, he has been focusing on enterprise software with a particular interest in developer, data and productivity tools, alongside AI-centric products and robotics. Giulia Ricci | Global Consumer and Product PR Lead | → 5.2 Giulia is responsible for global consumer and product communication at The Mobile Bank N26 with a focus on creative PR campaign across DACH, Spain, Italy and France. Previously, she was leading consumer PR DACH at Klarna, and worked at the Berlin-based PR agencies fischerAppelt and Styleheads. What she loves most about her current role is the combination of working strategically and creatively, and that it allows her to collaborate with numerous colleagues from different functions of the business. Luke Richardson | Senior Director of Brand and Communications at Pleo | → 2.2 Luke is Senior Director of Brand & Communications at the Danish-born fintech unicorn Pleo with a 25-strong team. Before Pleo, Luke took on similar roles at Danish-born scale-ups like Airtame and Momondo. He has zero educational experience in brand or marketing, and instead landed where he is today through 1) luck and 2) years of journalism, working as a film critic and broadcaster. Benjamin Romberg | Head of Communications at Spendesk | → 2.3 Benjamin is a native of Munich but has been living in Paris since 2018, where he leads communications at the French FinTech startup Spendesk. Previously, he worked for several years in agencies and as a journalist at the German Süddeutsche Zeitung. Daniel Rottinger | Startup Communicator | → 1.1 Daniel is marketing manager for the Berlin based Handyhase. He studied public relations at the Stuttgart Media University and already worked for a tech startup during his studies. As a freelance PR consultant, he supported 26 The Experts at a Glance <?page no="27"?> start-ups in telling stories about their development and their founders to the media in a targeted way. Prof. Dr. Swaran Sandhu | Professor at Stuttgart Media University, Ger‐ many | → 1.1 Swaran completed his doctorate in Switzerland on the topic of legitimacy and public relations; since 2012, he has held the professorship for corporate communication with a focus on public relations at the Stuttgart Media University, where his research includes how communication processes can be analysed and modelled using digital tools. Paul Sawers | Senior Writer at TechCrunch | ex-VentureBeat | → 6.3 Paul has more than ten years of experience as a technology journalist, initially covering startups, breaking news, and the (then) emerging mobile app economy at The Next Web. In 2014, Paul became the European Corre‐ spondent for the U.S.-based tech outlet VentureBeat, where he wrote about everything from startups to Big Tech and beyond. Since summer 2022, he has worked for TechCrunch. Joanna Schild | Senior Manager Global Internal Communications at Deliv‐ ery Hero | → 10.1 Following her studies in classical piano and theatre, Joanna spent the first half of her career in her native London, working for leading artist management companies and venues. She then uprooted to Berlin and worked as a freelance artist and PR manager. Due to the challenges of freelancing, Joanna took a part-time role at Delivery Hero in the evenings and later joined as a full-time employee. Her role at Delivery Hero is to further the company strategy and employee experience through credible and genuine communication. She leads the internal communications and events team for 50+ brands and more than 50,000 employees worldwide. Niels Schlesier | Managing Director at FGS Global | → 9.2 Niels has been advising companies on their critical issues with Brunswick for about ten years before joining FGS. Whether in Germany, Beijing, or Hong Kong, advising startups and scale-ups in moments of crisis has been an important part of his job and one that, while occasionally challenging, he enjoys a lot. While crises are events that people instinctively try to avoid, Niels has also found that the pressure often brings out the best qualities in those dealing with them. 27 The Experts at a Glance <?page no="28"?> Norval Scott | Global Head of PR and Communications at Tractable | → 4.3 Norval is Global Head of PR and Communications for Tractable. He has worked in PR for other UK tech companies and also at Telefonica's startup accelerator, at London & Partners (the Mayor's promotional body on foreign investment) and at the University of Edinburgh. Before that, he was a jour‐ nalist, reporting on oil and gas for international broadsheets and newswires, including Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal and the Globe and Mail. John Shewell | Director of Global Communications & Public Affairs at wefox | → 3.2 John is Director of Global Communications and Public Affairs at wefox. In this role, he looks after reputation management, media relations, issues and crisis management, public affairs and communication across the entire business, including in-country business units. Caspar Spinnen | Spokesperson and Pressoffice Lead of Fraktion Bünd‐ nis90/ Die Grünen | ex-Voi | → 9.3 Caspar heads the press office for the German parliamentary group Fraktion Bündnis 90/ Die Grünen in the Berlin House of Representatives. Before, he worked for Voi Technology, a Swedish sharing and micro-mobility operator, where he built the German PR team. Anniina Sulku | Communications Lead at Aiven | → 5.4 Anniina's passion is to help businesses and people to be more influential communicators. She worked in communication consulting and venture capital before joining Aiven as a communications lead. At Aiven, Anniina focuses on creating brand awareness and thought leadership for the com‐ pany, for example by scaling external comms and public relations globally in four different continents. Dan Taylor | Writer, Photographer and Broadcaster | → 5.4 Dan is a renowned photographer responsible for capturing almost a decade's worth of tech-related events, PR shots and portraits of some of the most memorable and important individuals in the sector. He is also the Managing Editor at Tech.eu. John Thornhill | Innovation editor at Financial Times, Founder of Sifted | → 6.4 John is the FT's innovation editor and founder of Sifted. He has worked at the FT for more than 30 years in the UK, Russia, Asia and France and ended up as deputy 28 The Experts at a Glance <?page no="29"?> editor from 2012-16. Later that year, John took on a new role as Innovation editor to deepen the FT's coverage of tech, write a weekly column, and do some innovation. In 2018 he launched Sifted, an FT-backed but standalone media company, to cover Europe's fast-growing startup universe. Catherine Treyz | Head of Communications and Platform at Cherry Ventures | → 6.1 Catherine is Head of Communications and Platform at Cherry Ventures, one of Europe's most active dedicated seed funds known as the first backer behind companies like AUTO1, FlixBus, Flink, Infarm, SellerX, Forto, and many, many more. The DC-area native moved to Berlin for a professional journalism grant sponsored by the Fulbright Association after spending several years as an editor on international news desks at organizations like CNN, covering the White House and Capitol Hill. She now helps companies get their stories in front of the right audiences. Alejandro Viquez | Communications Manager at Kahoot! | → 4.1 Alejandro started his career in public relations and corporate communica‐ tions in 2010, shortly after finishing his bachelor's in media science and communication. His first job at JeffeyGroup allowed him to work as a senior communications consultant for consumer technology brands, including Nikon, Nokia, Xerox, Airbnb, Spotify, and Mozilla. Originally from Mexico City, Alejandro has been living in Oslo for seven years, where he now builds media relations with journalists, editors and a vast network of PR agencies across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America for Kahoot! . Chris Wehbe | Chief Executive Officer at Lendable | → 1.2 After starting his career at Lehman Brothers, Chris was a founding partner of Arrowgrass Capital Partners, where he served as Global Head of Relative Value overseeing some arbitrage strategies. More recently, Chris has focused on impact finance and is currently Chief Executive Officer of Lendable. He has completed the CFA programme and holds an MPhil Economics from the University of Oxford, and an M.Sc in Quantitative Finance and Risk Management from Bocconi University, Milan. Hana Wilson | PR and Communications Manager for Germany at Tibber | → 7.4 Hana has a background in psychology and communications. First employed as a full-time content creator at the age of 18, she then became the first person in the German marketing team of Tibber, an energy company 29 The Experts at a Glance <?page no="30"?> leveraging tech innovation to reduce energy consumption. Today, she works remotely for Tibber from across Europe while following her private interest in local sports management. David Zahn | Head of Communications at Gigs | ex-Klarna | → 5.1 David Zahn is Head of Communications at Gigs. Previously, he worked as Global Product Communications Lead at Klarna, as a consultant for the consulting firm Deloitte Digital and as Head of Media Relations at Rocket Internet, where he was part of the IPO team. 30 The Experts at a Glance <?page no="31"?> 1 On the Why and How of Startup Communication Startups live - more than other companies - from their idea and vision. At least at the beginning, they do not yet have a viable business model, no customers, and sometimes not even a presentable product, and yet founders have to sell their idea to raise funds from investors. To do this, founders resort to an age-old principle: they tell stories. Not fairy tales, but they take investors on a mental journey about how their company will develop and change the world. Well-thought-out communication is, therefore, the be-all and end-all for founders, the salt in the soup, and one of their most important assets, especially in an early phase of the company's development. Some startups early recognise the intangible value a good external presentation brings. This is not just about media coverage. An article in a business or daily newspaper is not an end in itself - at least it shouldn't be. Instead, it is about building trust - with potential customers, partners, investors, and employees. And yet, there are also many other startups. For example, those entrepre‐ neurs who do the communication themselves, according to the motto, “I can write a text, too.” Some are so convinced of themselves that they are disappointed if they don't make the front page of Forbes and Fortune or Wall Street Journal, who don't think much of local newspapers and want to reach the top right away. Some doubters raise their eyebrows critically when public relations (PR) efforts do not immediately translate into euros and cents. The talk then quickly turns into a waste of money or mere vanity. And there are the quiet and modest ones who work diligently on their innovative business model and often wait in vain to be discovered by the media without their intervention. But what is PR? And what is it not? What mistakes do companies make most often in their communication? Swaran Sandhu from the Stuttgart Media University and startup communicator Daniel Rottinger address these questions (chapter 1.1). That settles the “what” - what remains is the question of “why”. This question will keep us busy. The first answer is given by Chris Wehbe, Chief Executive Officer at Lendable. He explains why startups should invest in PR from his perspective (chapter 1.2). Boris Radke, startup communications evangelist, adds to this view in chapter 1.3. <?page no="32"?> He believes that communication departments have not done a very good job creating a measurable business impact that supports their relevance inside the organisation. He argues that communicators must sit at the management table to get a holistic view of the organisation and build a strong and aligned narrative. Meike Ostermeier, Associate Director at FGS, looks at the strategic relevance of communications from an organisational point of view (chapter 1.4). Change is part of startups, just like salt in the soup. Startups are fast-moving, constantly reinventing themselves and creating new processes and structures to keep pace with growth. The task of internal communication is to create coherence and make sense in an environment that has to continuously adapt to change. According to Meike, this is when communications becomes a strategic sparring partner for management - if they appear confident and recognise the value of communication in the growth phase. 1.1 Public Relations from a Scientific Perspective Prof. Dr. Swaran Sandhu Professor for Corporate Communication and Public Rela‐ tions at the Hochschule der Medien Stuttgart, University of Applied Sciences, Germany Daniel Rottinger startup communicator with a background in journalism 32 1 On the Why and How of Startup Communication <?page no="33"?> There are countless views of what public relations actually is. Let's turn the tables first: What is PR not? Swaran · PR is definitely not parties and travel or drinking champagne and trying to turn bullshit into gold. And very importantly, PR is not paying for media content; advertising does that better. In slightly more modern terms: PR produces “owned content” on various channels, ideally leading to “earned content”, i.e. is picked up by third parties. Of course, modern campaigns are also flanked by “paid content,” but that is then the primary task of advertising. Daniel · In my definition, PR is not exclusively a metrics-driven content machine that is only out to catch clicks and sales. That may deliver shortterm results, but it's not sustainable! Finally, the relationship aspect is undervalued. Or, to put it another way: purely quantitative signals are not enough; it's all about emotions and contacts - especially in media relations. And now, thinking positively: Do you have a favourite definition of PR? Why? Swaran · There's a classic essay from 1976 by Rex Harlow, who tried to develop a meta for PR back then. A lot has changed since then, of course. The lowest common denominator is: “Public relations is a strategic management task for shaping an organisation's public relations to minimise communicative risks while maximising opportunities, thus ensuring the organisation's long-term legitimacy.” There's a lot in there. First, PR should always be a strategic task. If you only use PR as a tool in crises, trying to smooth things over, you've already lost. Secondly, PR needs access to the decision makers in management and must therefore also speak the language of management, i.e. understand important key figures and business models. Third, PR looks outward to the company's environment (what is happening right now, and what are the consequences for us? ) and inward. You could also call PR a fine seismograph: provided this is done on a data basis and not on gut feeling. Fourthly, it's not just about image or reputation - which are, of course, still important parameters whose operationalisation can be argued about - but about the ability to recognise communicative risks and exploit communicative opportunities. And as a 33 1.1 Public Relations from a Scientific Perspective <?page no="34"?> final point: PR is always designed for the long term and has a strong societal dimension. You deal with corporate communications, with a focus on PR. To what extent do corporate communications go beyond PR? Swaran · Corporate communications is a collective term that encom‐ passes all the organisation's targeted and planned communications activi‐ ties. This means that communication disciplines that are often thought of separately, such as advertising, marketing, branding, social media, PR, CEO communications, influencers, sponsoring, sales, lobbying, sustainability communications etc. must be considered in a holistic way. The classic example of silo thinking is that advertising comes up with a great ad or campaign that really ignites creativitiy but might be provocative as well; however, the whole thing leads to a wave of outrage on social media, which is then picked up by platforms that still have a wide reach. Then PR has to get back at it, “explain” the process and apologise for the mismanagement of others. Daniel · PR and media relations are often used synonymously. If you have developed a common idea of corporate communications, you are talking about the same thing. This helps to 1) avoid typical misunderstandings (keyword: “we'll just drop some PR at it”) and 2) seriously clarify the type and scope of communication when you get started. You also advise companies on organisational issues in corporate communications. Are there things that you think companies often do wrong? Swaran · Hectic activism out of the fear of missing something, according to the motto: “But XY is also doing this, we also have to be on platform Z”. Therefore: think first, set strategic goals, then act and check whether the goals are achieved. But also: allocate too few human and financial resources to communication if the attitude prevails that communication can be done on the side. Daniel · Underestimate the power of internal stakeholders! Communica‐ tors should build reputation with the team by providing tangible explana‐ tions and persuasion for their communication plans. Why? For one thing, PR is not common knowledge that is directly understood. Furthermore, especially in the case of owned media communication, they will regularly fall back on the competence of colleagues. If this support is lacking, it must first be painstakingly worked out again. 34 1 On the Why and How of Startup Communication <?page no="35"?> What qualities and skills you should bring to PR? Swaran · A good general education, curiosity, no fear of numbers and business models, a very good understanding of modern media systems, including social media, platform logic and algorithms, a good dose of strategic thinking, and, of course, superior copywriting skills. What would good corporate communications look like for a startup with 300 people? Swaran · 300 people and yet a startup? At the very least, organisational rules and process definitions are required for companies of this size, even in holocratic organisational models. What seems important to me here is to be particularly clear about the core business and not to have many messages in parallel, but to consistently maintain a positioning. This is not only about external communication, but especially internal communication; you have to ensure that all employees share a common understanding of values and an identity. Especially in expansive growth phases, you must not forget the organisation's core: “Why do we exist and what can we contribute? ” And what about 50 employees? Or, to put it another way: at what point does corporate communications become necessary at all? Isn't that very “corporate”? Swaran · There are different interpretations of “corporate”. One is aimed at rather bureaucratic, slow structures from which startups want to distin‐ guish themselves. But even startups can have toxic work cultures and selfexploitation. That's why writing down hours is not a form of harassment but also a form of self-protection. The second and much more exciting reading understands it as the holistic “physicality” of an organisation. And corporate communication should also be understood in this light: as a holistic view of organisational communication processes. Daniel · It helps internally and externally. I can communicate messages accurately only if I have created a clear internal communication structure. You can detect critical issues only if you communicate from the outside to the inside and vice versa. External stakeholders often ask questions that the C-level has already discussed and more or less adequately answered it for themselves. All too often, attitudes toward supposedly daily topics only become transparent to employees through media coverage (“oh, so that's our position on this”). Speaking with one voice is also incredibly motivating. 35 1.1 Public Relations from a Scientific Perspective <?page no="36"?> Your three tips for founders who want to establish corporate com‐ munications? Swaran · ■ Don't forget traditional and local media: relationships with journalists are worth a lot. Nevertheless, think holistically and avoid silos - and don't decouple PR from the decision makers in the organisation. ■ Every (new) platform costs time and resources: focus on what makes the most sense for you. This includes not doing things. ■ Hire professionals: You don't want to have accounting done by someone who just read “Accounting for Dummies”, do you? It's just that people always assume that anyone can communicate - but that's not the case. That's why you pick the best ones for your field. Daniel · ■ Force yourself to regularly integrate the “PR topic” into the stressful daily startup routine. Continuity is important and builds trust - with internal and external stakeholders. ■ Learn from tiny trials: Optimize your story and material by presenting yourself to smaller media during interviews - and implement the learnings during the big “media buzz”. ■ Understand what makes the industry tick: Stock up on numbers, facts, figures, and short insights. Follow thought leaders in your field - become an insider who can be asked about the topic anytime. Will marketing automation and AI not make communication basics obsolete in the future? Daniel · As long as startups communicate with humans, the rules of communication science also apply. Tools can make things easier. However, oversimplification conceals the fact that technical expertise and experience cannot be replaced with one to two clicks. 36 1 On the Why and How of Startup Communication <?page no="37"?> 1.2 Why Startup Founders Should Invest in PR - Answers from a Founder Chris Wehbe Chief Executive Officer at Lendable Why should startups invest in public relations? Chris · In the early stages of a business, funding is usually limited, and strategic focus is of paramount importance. PR can therefore appear unnecessary and even a distraction. However, in my experience, it can be an extremely useful tool. First, it forces the leadership of a young firm to clearly define objectives and direction so that it can be communicated to external parties. This helps create discipline and clarity. Second, generating market awareness is key in overcoming the “chicken and egg” problem of winning customers and building a track record. How do you measure the success of good PR work? Chris · PR can certainly fail to deliver results. I think two important determinants of success are making sure you clearly define the audience you want to target and focusing on a single clear message you want to communicate with consistency. After that, you can judge whether PR is adding value based on whether you hear your target audience stating your vision back to you as you intended it. It can be an iterative process to get it right - you may find external parties do not interpret your message as you expect it. You may find some mediums of communication more effective than others. There is always a discussion in startups about whether and to what extent PR contributes to the company's success. How do you see this? Chris · For a business to succeed, it's necessary to offer a product or sol‐ ution that somebody wants at a price that creates value for all stakeholders and for this to be commercially scalable. However, this is not necessarily 37 1.2 Why Startup Founders Should Invest in PR - Answers from a Founder <?page no="38"?> sufficient. You also need the market to understand your value proposition. I think this is where PR can play a very important role. Highlighting your achievements and strategic focus helps build a presence and position such that clients and investors think of you as a market leader and reference point they must consult. It's very hard to achieve this without active external messaging. In your opinion, what are the weaknesses or limitations of PR? Chris · In the medium-term, PR can't solve a bad product or customer experience; success must be based on strong fundamentals. Moreover, PR is limited by its design; if you're not consistent and you don't invest thought into your messaging and target audience, it won't be helpful. For example, I know of a small asset manager that invested a lot of time in its Facebook presence. This yielded no benefit as all its stakeholders were institutions that would never use this platform. Indeed, it was probably a negative exercise as it confused the strategic direction both internally and externally. You also need to be consistent with PR. A single article can only reach so many people. It is instead more about the marginal gains of continuous market presence to build your brand. When you look back at Lendable's external communication: Is there anything you are particularly proud of? Chris · At Lendable, we have never had a large budget for PR and we could certainly have invested more thought into our strategy. However, we have been extremely consistent with our messaging - always relating posts to our core ambition of promoting financial inclusion, our use of technology and our focus on institutional rigour. I feel this has supported our market perception with investors, investees, and competitors who consider us a professional and mission-driven counterpart. In addition, as private credit investors, we have always publicised our transactions alongside our borrowers. This has led to a great deal of referred business and the broader market seeing us as an incumbent from an early stage. Last, we have always been very focused on who we choose to work with and are particularly proud of the opportunity we have had to communicate relationships with leading development finance institutions. These relationships are mutually beneficial and, as such, mean that we broaden the reach of our PR as we promote our partners and they promote us. 38 1 On the Why and How of Startup Communication <?page no="39"?> Many founders take care of PR themselves at the beginning. Is there a point in time when founders should hand it over? Chris · I think the role of a founder or a CEO is to continually make themselves redundant. A real business can operate independently and does not rely on the leadership of any individual. By definition, therefore, the responsibility for PR should pass from founders over time and become part of the firm's day-to-today processes. When this happens really depends on priorities and the relative points of strength and weakness of the organisation. The founders should focus on areas which are least well defined and which offer the greatest potential for opportunity or risk. Your most important learning about external communication? Chris · My most important learning is consistency. The value of a single piece of coverage decays very quickly. You need to be constantly in the market, re-enforcing your positioning and corporate message. Ad hoc and disjointed PR is really not worth the work. A startup decides to hire someone for PR. What should founders pay attention to? Chris · The most likely initial issue will be to understand the intricacies of your business. For example, founders can spend weeks debating every word of a one-sentence mission statement. More generally, there will be a great deal of embedded background knowledge about the logic and path that brought you to your current offering. As a founder, you need to be willing to do the work to bring the PR person up to speed and have the willingness to let them build their own picture, which might be somewhat different to your own. From a skills perspective, you need your PR person to therefore be an effective listener and to have the capacity to understand your industry just as much as the ability to communicate. 39 1.2 Why Startup Founders Should Invest in PR - Answers from a Founder <?page no="40"?> 1.3 Communications as a Strategic Management Function Boris Radke VP Corporate Affairs and Workplace XP at Omio The most successful startups understand that communications is a strategic management function that should be represented at the highest level of the business. Yet the reality is often very different. Why do you think that is? Boris · In a world where communication to any stakeholder may become public due to its digital nature and the imminent availability of recording devices, people have yet to understand that communication itself is a skill of any leadership body or company and that the more aligned the messaging is, the more consistent your overall messaging becomes. Most startups align their priorities very close to business needs, and since communications is more or less a part of everything, it gets easily forgotten. Other functions such as marketing and people & culture have been much more successful at creating measurable business impact that ties back to their relevance inside of an organisation. One of the biggest mistakes that Communications teams have made in the past, in your opinion, is that they have allowed too much say. How so? Boris · Communicators must start evolving away from their “advisory” function, which is of course very compelling. You are (usually) very close to the CEO, and you don't have to report business key performance indicators (KPIs) daily. However, being relevant to the company's suc‐ cess is key to becoming a highly regarded member at the management table. The most central KPIs of any business are customer satisfaction, 40 1 On the Why and How of Startup Communication <?page no="41"?> employee satisfaction and overall business value. All three KPIs can be tied back to Communications. Making that case and showing how your work can actually contribute to moving the needle in all three parts is important. Central communication tasks often lie with HR or marketing. Is that a mistake? Boris · You must create a holistic view of Communications as a central driver of a company's brand to all stakeholders. If management has that holistic view on messaging across all stakeholders, communication tasks can be handed over to the various business or administrative functions. That, however, is only rarely the case. Therefore, Communications must ensure a consistent messaging of the company's values, purpose and business strategy to increase customer and employee satisfaction and the company's valuation by investors or public markets. HR (or the people team) is usually the first and most relevant stake‐ holder for internal comms as a lot of content is actually coming from that department. However, suppose you want to see internal comms as a key driver of your company strategy. In that case, you should perceive it as a CEO or management channel and therefore be very businessand even performance-focused in its messaging. Internal comms enables the leadership within your company to drive transparency, alignment and trust in your organisation. Management, HR, office management or IT all need to communicate their respective topics to the workforce. However, internal comms needs to set the messaging, the style and the frequency to keep people informed but not flooded with too much information. This is why I always root for having internal comms as part of your communications team. Not because I don't believe in the communications skills in people functions, but because People functions usually don't have a holistic view across all stakeholders. The same goes with consumer PR, which can be managed very successfully in marketing departments. However, in most cases, the hunt for marketing-driven messaging may come at a much higher cost later in your company's future. In a clean, holistic communications function, several stakeholder groups may also be handled through the respective, dedicated business function, but only after that initial setup has hit a good maturity level. 41 1.3 Communications as a Strategic Management Function <?page no="42"?> You said that when working for Zalando you made tons of mistakes that were evitable. How so? Boris · At that time, I had not yet developed my personal toolkit as a leader, which led to chaotic processes that left my team confused. I failed to understand that I should have dealt with conflicts with my peers directly instead of shying away and leaving my teams to deal with the conflicts on the ground. This led to many silos and heavy distances between our teams and other departments. I also did not understand the value of managing data sources within my comms team at that time. Comms people must accept that embracing digital tooling around performance and productivity is essential to meeting expectations and being successful in our business world. I could go on for hours now. Luckily, I also made many good decisions then, such as finding amazing talent that has forever professionalised the way Zalando communicates. Let's take a look at strategy and positioning first. A good PR strategy is directly linked to the company strategy. All too often, there are roadmaps and quarterly objectives and key results and also a long-term vision, but not so much a clear strategy. What should communication departments do in those instances? Boris · External communications should not be too close to the company's OKR process, but instead follow the company's long-term business strategy and overall narrative. At the same time, PR needs to look at the media landscape and make potential bets in terms of content that could meet the media's focus topics during that time. As a novice in the field, one might think of PR strategy as a holy grail - a book that contains all the answers. How should startups start to define a PR strategy? What does a good PR strategy look like? Boris · Starting to talk to journalists is always the best way. I strongly believe that too much focus on strategy is a general waste of time at a startup and I rather initiate continuous feedback loops with our stakeholders. I recommend drafting a simple company narrative with a few topics that you believe are worth talking about to external media stakeholders but then get out there and start talking. Take the feedback, refine your messaging, create first clippings and see how these clippings work across social channels. Integrate a fast way to see if the hiring team, for example, uses the clippings to lure in new talent and see if management shares the clippings with 42 1 On the Why and How of Startup Communication <?page no="43"?> potential investors. You need to find out what works in order to allocate attention to the right parts of your media strategy. Say we do have a strategy and target audience, and we know how to position ourselves. Next is to identify the best channels to reach those target groups. With so many channels and media outlets, events, conferences and podcasts, reaching the audience has become more difficult. What do you recommend? Boris · I recommend a short field survey at the beginning: Look at your competitors or peers and see which media outlets write about them, which journalists write in-depth pieces and really understand the business model. Check out the conferences that have high visibility among your desired audiences. I believe that a simple set of key media, key events (incl. conferences) and key podcasts are central and enough to build your first iteration of actual active media work. Focus on finding out if that works and if your work has an impact, and then start challenging yourself to either improve your approach or scale even further what is successful. Be aware that measuring the success of your work will be just as essential as the work to get output in the first place. You are convinced that internal communication is the most impor‐ tant tool that a CEO has. However, not all CEOs would agree. How do you make them see how important it is that they get involved? Boris · Based on my experience, internal comms is the starting point of any company narrative. Suppose a founder builds an atmosphere of transparency, alignment and trust. In that case, they can scale their business much faster and keep attrition low because people feel empowered to align their strategies, tasks and processes with others. Internal comms has an impact on employee productivity, and such productivity is a key driver for a company's performance, especially in its early days. Again, communicators must argue and also consult with their CEO not as advisors, but as actual owners of a dedicated business function which will be central to achieving the company's goals. A word on brand. You once said that employer branding is bullshit. A “confetti feel-good” that no one needs. Why? Boris · From my point of view, there is just one brand for a company, which is its corporate brand. This should be owned by a central communi‐ cations team. If a company has various products, such products usually also 43 1.3 Communications as a Strategic Management Function <?page no="44"?> have a consumer brand that is owned by a marketing department. Having various brands creates a high risk of inconsistency, confused messaging and a loss in success in terms of actually meeting your overall objectives when it comes to communication. The heavy pressure on hiring over the past 20 years has led to the development of the so-called employer brand, which, to me, is just a small part of the corporate brand. Many companies have invested heavily into their employer brand recently only to find out that they have attracted talent that, in the end, is not in sync with the corporate brand (which might be far more driven by performance and the business strategy) or its consumer brand (which might not align with certain “en vogue” values). The cost of vetting the newly attracted talent after that talent “hits” the corporate or consumer brand is much higher than just focusing on a simple, clearly framed corporate brand with clearly framed consumer brands. You are a strong advocate of making Communications measurable. How do you do it? What tips do you have? Boris · Don't even question it; see it as a necessity. And no, measurement does not take away the creativity of Communications. It just helps to focus and improve on the parts of your toolkit that actually work. And what are your three biggest learnings? Boris · 1. Focus on talent and help talent become senior experts or leaders. 2. Always push for speed instead of too many internal discussions. 3. Build sustainable relationships with your peers (other leaders on your level in your company) so that your teams can perform freely and fast. 44 1 On the Why and How of Startup Communication <?page no="45"?> 1.4 Why Strategic Communication Makes a Difference in Times of Growth Meike Ostermeier Associate Director at FGS Global What paradigm shifts do startups go through in the growth phase on the way to becoming a grown-up? Meike · I would say that there are three central developments. First: startups need to abandon their pure sales logic. Reputation is increasingly becoming a currency. Second: they need to handle stakeholder groups differently and switch to a “counterflow” approach. And third: the “one team” spirit is no longer self-sustaining, but must be consciously supported. Let's look at the sales-to-reputation-shift first. Can you explain? Meike · Young startups fight for the attention of potential customers, investors and talents. Everything is geared towards appearing on these groups' radar in the first place, and that's why startups must market themselves well. Consequently, in the Series A and B phases, communication often has a strong product focus, and PR is seen as part of the marketing mix. The logic behind it is that whoever addresses customers and their needs - and is the most visible - will benefit. If this logic bears fruit, there comes a time when it reaches its limits. With the increasing success and growing company size come increasing influence on the market and responsibility. Suddenly, you've become a relevant player, and your entrepreneurial actions are viewed in a societal context. This context is also critically scrutinised. A pure focus on customers can now even be harmful if it is assumed that the product promise leads to negative consequences for other groups, is achieved at the expense of employees' wellbeing or is accompanied by compromises on issues such as data protection. In summary: reputation is becoming critical to success. 45 1.4 Why Strategic Communication Makes a Difference in Times of Growth <?page no="46"?> In addition to good product communication, this increases the need for professional strategic communication. You mentioned that startups need to incorporate a “counterflow” approach when dealing with stakeholder groups. Meike · Yes. The change I described above has a typical feature: growing startups no longer have to deal only with desires and needs that they have previously awakened, but are suddenly confronted with ideas and demands from the outside world. The visibility they had to fight so hard for before now means they have to adapt to new stakeholder groups and their demands. New stakeholder groups that receive public attention and are decisive for how the company is being perceived include, for example, representatives of the industry that is disrupted, local residents, employees, but also regulators, politicians and interest groups such as environmental, data and consumer protection organisations. The demands of these groups tend to be even more important today because successful startups nowadays often operate in highly regulated and sensitive markets. With FinTech, HealthTech and the sharing economy - just to name a few - we are moving into highly regulated markets where data protection and market power are under critical scrutiny. Working conditions and workers' rights are frequently criticised in other areas, such as the delivery industry. Being successful in this environment means understanding one's business responsibility, which requires knowledge of the demands and ideas of important stakeholder groups and engaging with them. One must switch from the sender model to a “counterflow process” in which every business decision is also evaluated against the backdrop of its social acceptance. This often requires a focus on the long-term outcome, which may come at the expense of short-term business success - a controversy that communicators need to raise if necessary. You also said that the growing size of the team requires careful internal stakeholder management. Meike · There comes a time when the “we all know each other and get along”-principle no longer applies in a growing team. A time when the others will not necessarily understand how certain statements are meant because they haven't known you for so long. These are classic side effects of growth. Within a short time, new people will join the team who may no longer have a direct connection to the founding team and who want to contribute their own ideas and visions. This is usually the moment when 46 1 On the Why and How of Startup Communication <?page no="47"?> internal communication becomes increasingly important. Suddenly, you have to invest in and consciously promote company culture and team spirit to avoid a “them up there” vs “us down here”. The importance of this task cannot be overstated! How can communicators help navigate these changes? Meike · An entire book could probably be written on this question alone. In my opinion, however, four central levers are particularly important. ■ Take a strategic perspective ■ Build relationships with key stakeholder groups and promote an ex‐ change ■ Prepare for new topics ■ Manage cultural change Let me explain. If not communicators, who can help ensure that social acceptance is included as a strategic perspective in business decisionmaking? Communicators should not let this strategic sparring role pass by. If we don't bring in these impulses, too often no one does. Besides, it is obvious which has more effect on internal standing: to focus on drafting the next press release or being perceived as a strategic sparring partner for the CEO? We communicators know the stakeholders' demands, know which topics involve communicative opportunities or risks, and assess the course of the discourse. These strategic impulses on reputation are important guidelines for further developing the business model and for decision-making, especially in the growth phase. Accordingly, it is the task of communicators to listen carefully, identify opportunity and risk topics, develop positions that take these into account and actively incorporate these impulses into the strategy development at the company level. If necessary, fighting for the long-term reputational perspective becomes part of this role. In addition to listening, which to a large extent can also take place via following discourse in media, on platforms and social networks, building di‐ rect relationships with key stakeholder groups is crucial. Growing and professionalising startups typically begin to build up their own small teams that take care of relationships, for example with politicians and regulators (public affairs), investors and capital markets (financial communications), local residents (community relations), and employees (internal communica‐ tions). It is incredibly important to build these resilient relationships early on and to show you take their concerns seriously. The longer you wait, the 47 1.4 Why Strategic Communication Makes a Difference in Times of Growth <?page no="48"?> more expensive it becomes to build such bonds. And if you wait too long, you might reach the point where engaging with these groups is assumed to be done in bad faith, and you'll find it difficult to find counterparts who are still interested in an honest and constructive dialogue. As soon as the threshold of public attention is crossed and turns to the business model, startups are confronted with new topics and issues - often with several at the same time. Suddenly, the product and growth pitches for customers and investors no longer cut ice. Instead, topics such as the industry's future, technology, climate protection and energy, security, data protection or working conditions are of interest. Often, these topics hit companies relatively unprepared. The task of communicators is to prepare for this early on - better safe than sorry! This can be challenging if there are issues that cannot be handled with one position. Accordingly, it is important to build up experts who really know the subject, are up to date and establish relationships. And in the end, this is where the fun begins: working with topics that are of societal relevance. And last: communicators should not let the rush of external demands distract them from internal challenges. Because here, too, communication can make a real difference. Here's where the communicators' observation skills are particularly valuable: How do current formats work? How is the communication of the leadership team perceived? Which topics and values should be emphasised more? How can it be ensured that the founders remain approachable to the team? Enabling the leadership team to manage these communicative situations appropriately can have a great impact. In addition, communication should make the team spirit tangible and create space for (moderated) exchange and dialogue. Does growth require changes in the setup of the communication function? Meike · The clear answer to this is yes. At a certain point, doing more of the same is not enough. At a certain point of growth, you have to reinvent the communication function to make it work. Any tips on how to do this? Meike · Sure. Communication is a CEO matter. In the early days, companies often still lack an understanding of why strategic communication and reputation management are important for long-term success. This needs to change later on in the growth phase. The crucial starting point: communication needs to become part of the CEO's area of responsibility. 48 1 On the Why and How of Startup Communication <?page no="49"?> The head of comms should report directly to the CEO. This reflects the strategic relevance of communication and takes into account the fact that the CEO is ultimately held responsible for the company's actions that are discussed publicly, and him being the company's most important voice - internally and externally. It is crucial to lay the foundation for impactful strategic communication before it becomes obvious that it is needed, for example in crises. Apart from the key role of the CEO, strategic hiring is also essential. It's tempting to staff positions based on current needs, especially when demands increase. Often, comms positions are filled with junior staff to make them easier to justify. However, this usually does not reduce the need for resources. On the contrary, more people have more ideas to implement and more demands on their jobs that have to be met. The system enlarges itself. This makes it all the more important to think about the department's objectives, the required service areas, roles and processes early on. Strategic hiring also includes filling central comms positions with experienced people - and leaving them enough room for their core responsibilities. Perhaps the most common advice as an external consultant is: focus on what's important. With increasing resources and team size, the temptation is to do everything just because it is suddenly possible. But you should, instead, ask yourself where you really want to make an impact now and in the long term and focus your team's energies on that. The same applies to messages and audiences: What should really come across - and to whom? And it applies to projects: What is so important that it should be completed before starting something new? Focus is a mindset. And as such, it cannot be emphasised enough. Even if it means saying no to relevant internal stakeholders. 49 1.4 Why Strategic Communication Makes a Difference in Times of Growth <?page no="51"?> 2 Is that still PR? Related Disciplines of Corporate Communication Where do you draw the line between PR and marketing? How are brand and communication connected? What is a good employer brand? And what is the point of all this in a book on communication? Quite simply, anyone who communicates also carries the company's brand and values to the outside world. Those responsible for communica‐ tion should therefore also have a basic understanding of employer brand, customer brand, and marketing. So, where should PR be positioned - in marketing or as a staff position to the management? In their article, Svenja Hoya from Trade Republic and Valentina Kristensen from OakNorth explore this question (chapter 2.1). They are against silo thinking and see communications as a discipline in its own right, regardless of where it is located organisationally. Svenja, therefore, compares PR and marketing to “bread and butter - while each discipline is also nice and variable on its own, they also go even better together.” The extent to which it makes sense to integrate marketing and PR depends on many factors and, according to Svenja and Valentina, cannot be answered in a general sense. Their attitude: the organisation must follow strategy. Anything else leads to inefficiency. Similarly, Katharina Buttenberg from HelloFresh, Sigrid Dubois from Ankerstore and Luke Richardson from Pleo examine the relationship be‐ tween the brand and the business (chapter 2.2). Ultimately, the brand lays the foundation for positioning in the market and, therefore, also affects the company's internal perception and external image. Whether or not branding is part of marketing, corporate communications or just an area superordinate to these two departments, it always intersects with corporate communications. Marina Burtyleva from Vivid Money, Andrew Kyle from Gorillas and Benjamin Romberg from Spendesk take a closer look at the employer brand (chapter 2.3). What is the best way to develop a unique employer promise that separates you from your competitors? And how do you do that even with limited resources? They all agree that employer branding and a consistent candidate experience are vital for an attractive positioning of the company. Their chapter digs into how to find an employee <?page no="52"?> value proposition and why startups shouldn't be afraid to compete with big companies to win and retain the best talent. 2.1 On the Difference Between Marketing and Communications Svenja Hoya Marketing Communications Lead at Trade Republic Valentina Kristensen Director Growth and Communications at OakNorth Can you think of a metaphor that best describes the relationship between PR and marketing? Svenja · Interesting. How about: PR and marketing are like bread and butter - while each discipline is also nice and variable on its own, they also go even better together. Valentina · I would put it like this: PR and marketing are like moving pieces on a chessboard - in isolation, each move may seem small or tactical, but together, they make up a strategy that will hopefully lead to a winning outcome. Like playing chess, conducting PR and marketing often involves keeping your eye on several moving parts at once, anticipating where your next challenge could come from, and deciding the best next move with limited time. 52 2 Is that still PR? Related Disciplines of Corporate Communication <?page no="53"?> A tweet about a new product feature - is that PR or already market‐ ing? Why? Svenja · It's both - and particularly, in this case, the two of them should be looked at together. In both cases, the recipient of the message is the customer - for marketing, more directly, and for PR, indirectly. So the teams working on this need to have an alignment instead of an artificial separation on who it “belongs to”. Many companies don't even send out press releases anymore, but use platforms like Twitter for news like this first. But of course, whether this makes sense also depends on the market. For example, in Germany, Twitter is used mainly amongst journalists and political stakeholders but less by consumers. Valentina · I think of PR as earned content, marketing as paid-for content and both as shared and owned content. So, a tweet about a new product feature is both PR and marketing. The tweet will only have the desired outcome - i.e. to get people to want to buy the product or celebrate the new product feature if the right people follow your Twitter account (i.e. you've built the right community). The right people may be following your Twitter account because they read about your business in a publication, saw you were sponsoring an event they attended etc. So, it can be a combination of PR and marketing. And what about the blog article aimed at customers? Svenja · Same as above. The question should not be “what it is” or “which team is better suited to own that channel”, but how to build a setup where the customer receives the best messaging. Valentina · As media continues to evolve, so too does how brands grow their presence. For years, many relied primarily on traditional PR, that is on third-party endorsement from newspapers, magazines, radio and television to manage public opinion. However, as the world moved online, so did PR, with brand awareness efforts shifting towards online news sources, blogs and websites. A good blog or well-executed content marketing strategy will be focused on demonstrating a company's thought leadership and expertise on a specific subject matter or focus area rather than directly promoting the company itself. Search engine optimisation will ensure potential customers can find it and learn about the company if searching for a particular product or service via a search engine. 53 2.1 On the Difference Between Marketing and Communications <?page no="54"?> While a blog can be a great way to build a relationship with the public or certain communities and impact the public's perception of a business; I'd consider it part of marketing (specifically content marketing) rather than PR. How do you differentiate between external communication and marketing? Valentina · I see marketing as activities a company undertakes to get (potential) customers to buy more of whatever a company is selling. I see external communication on the other hand, as any communication between an organisation and its stakeholders outside the company, such as customers, suppliers, intermediaries, investors, or society. Its goal is to ensure that a company is perceived in the right way by all of its stakeholders. So, with marketing, there is a very specific desired end result which is directly related to increasing the bottom line, whereas with external communication, the desired end result could be a multitude of things, such as supporting recruitment, attracting investment, raising the founders' or management's profile, or changing the public perception of the brand, etc. It's relatively straightforward why companies should invest in mar‐ keting. Why should they also invest in PR? Valentina · Suppose a company has a brilliant product that lots of people want to buy, but is perceived by the public to have a discriminatory company culture. In that case, it could lead to the following: ■ Customers choose to buy a product they like less from a company they respect more. ■ Investors choose not to invest in the company because of the negative reputational issues that could arise. ■ Media write negative stories about that company which could prevent it from attracting top talent, which could, in turn, impact its ability to develop market-leading products or services. ■ Existing employees feel demotivated and disillusioned because of the negative perception of the company they work for. 54 2 Is that still PR? Related Disciplines of Corporate Communication <?page no="55"?> A great example of this is with Uber - the now-infamous Susan Fowler blog of 2017 was the catalyst that kicked off a series of revelations about the company culture which led to numerous consequences for the business, including #BoycottUber trending on Twitter as customers jumped ship to alternatives such as Bolt and Lyft, and ultimately, the founder, Travis Kalanick being ousted by investors. In startups (and also in companies), PR departments are sometimes seen as part of marketing and organisationally anchored there. Your opinion on this? Svenja · The days when the PR team sits in its own ivory tower without any connection or touchpoint to marketing are definitely over. In a modern organisation, they must go hand in hand and become more intertwined. This is especially true for product PR and product marketing. To be successful, they need to work together because they have the same goal in the end: to convince consumers of the product. How can they succeed if they are not aligned? For example, a consumer magazine is testing different products for their readers. The PR team would usually judge the importance of the magazine, prepare the answering of the questionnaire and answer any additional interview questions. Some magazines then offer the company to buy a “seal of approval” from them so the company can flag to their customers that the product has been rated highly by an external institution. The budget for this usually comes from the marketing team, which also decides whether or not the seal makes it onto the website or product packaging. So working together is a must. However, there needs to be a clear line to the CEO for corporate and strategic communications. The key company narrative and messaging come from the management, not from marketing, so PR needs to have access to them. Valentina · In my view, a marketing director should report to whoever runs sales as their team focuses on getting potential customers to buy more of whatever a company is selling. On the other hand, a communications director should report to the CEO (or equivalent) because public perception can impact several areas of the business (share price, whether it can secure investment, whether it can attract and retain the best talent, sales, etc.). But as Svenja said, marketing and PR comms need to work hand-in-hand to succeed. 55 2.1 On the Difference Between Marketing and Communications <?page no="56"?> Do you see any stumbling blocks for a good collaboration? Svenja · It's important to see the collaboration of the two departments as a two-way street: PR and marketing need to work together and learn from each other to do so. Hence, creating awareness of how the two disciplines work is crucial for both sides. For example, a marketeer needs to understand why advertorial messaging does not work for media relations, and a communications manager needs to understand what a CAC is. So far, I've only experienced both sides being eager to learn from each other, which helps work together. The more both sides understand how the other works, the fewer no-gos there are usually. For example, I was once asked by a marketing colleague to call a journalist from a tier-one business medium to put a tracking link into the article he had just written about us. This, of course, is a prime example of a lack of understanding of the channel of media relations. One challenge I've seen in every company so far is the discussion about measuring success for PR versus marketing. For most marketing channels, you have very clear quantitative KPIs that can be tracked and measured easily, such as conversion rate, downloads, customer acquisition cost etc. So, marketeers expect to apply a similar setup to PR. But this won't work. For PR, the goals are more qualitative and involve an external third party to convey your messages. The outcome is therefore hard to plan 100% or quantify. Of course, you can track the number of clippings you get in a month or the (theoretical) reach you generated through them. But it won't tell you anything about the quality or relevance of your coverage or the true number of consumers that read these articles and learnt about the company or a new product this way. Most of my PR colleagues will agree that PR is difficult to measure. But if you invest in it and trust the process, it will be a major driver for reputation building, brand awareness and stakeholder engagement. Svenja, in your career, you were also involved in brand strategy. That's a very broad field, but let's give it a shot: Is Brand a comms or a marketing topic? Svenja · A good brand is where the product can live up to the expectation set through comms and marketing beforehand. Customer feedback is key to a brand. A cool branding cannot rescue a crappy product or service. The brand will suffer. It is crucial that your comms - PR, customer service, overall tonality and messaging - align with your marketing activities to 56 2 Is that still PR? Related Disciplines of Corporate Communication <?page no="57"?> provide a consistent brand appearance. For example, I have often seen that performance marketing uses completely different wording or imagery than the other brand channels. Or if your CEO gives different key messages in interviews or highlights other priorities for the business than your ads do, this is also a problem. It is inconsistent, and consumers will see this, as it usually takes many different touchpoints with a brand before they decide to become a customer. I always recommend to understand why there are still people who are aware of your product but haven't used it yet (and there will be). Many companies only look at the customer base they already have for research in‐ stead of looking at the entire market. Only if you understand your audience and what they see as drivers and barriers will you successfully develop your brand - your profile, your corporate identity and your communications. Maybe you know what it's like: marketing is overwhelmed with money; if, on the other hand, PR asks for a fraction of the money, the question of the return on investment, i.e. the monetarily measurable result, comes up immediately. Your advice? Svenja · As I said above, PR is a long-term investment. It won't pay off quickly but over time. It's a bit like this: If you go to a job interview, you'll make sure you are prepared for the basics, like why you chose to study here, why you chose to take a job there, why you took a gap year etc. But you'll also prepare for any critical questions, such as what your colleagues would consider your weaknesses or how you would solve a problem that you have never even heard of. Maybe you'll even invest in a nice outfit to wear to the interview. Getting the job is not guaranteed, yet you'll still do it. It is pretty much the same for PR. You invest to be prepared and present a professional image and consistent story, which helps to influence your reputation. Valentina · I would add that money isn't everything. Sometimes, budgets can even be a double-edged sword: on the one hand, you want to ensure you're getting as much out of the budget as possible, negotiating hard and measuring results, but on the other hand, if you don't spend the full budget, you may find it's harder getting more in the future. This creates a conflict where teams can feel like they have to spend the budget or risk seeing their 57 2.1 On the Difference Between Marketing and Communications <?page no="58"?> budgets cut the following year. It's the same with hiring - when managers get the approval to hire a member to their team, they might feel they need to hire as soon as possible because otherwise, the decision might be questioned again. Their manager may say to them: Your team appears to be managing fine, so maybe you don't need that hire after all. Most businesses set a budget for the team and then ask them to make sure they get value. I've always worked oppositely - i.e. what value am I trying to achieve, what activities can help me achieve them, and how much am I willing to budget towards that? This shifts the mindset from “I've got money to spend, so how can I best spend it? ” to “I want to achieve these outcomes, so what activities do I need to engage in to achieve them, and how much money am I willing to invest in that? ” Valentina, you said once that having a strong network is one of the most important assets in the startup comms director's toolbox. Why is that? And how do you build a strong network? Valentina · I actually think having a strong network is invaluable irre‐ spective of the business type (startup, scale-up, or established institution), career type or stage in your career. Having a strong network can open up new opportunities - whether full-time jobs, advisory or non-exec roles, volunteering, mentoring etc. and enable you to meet people with different experiences and perspectives. Building a strong network requires an investment of your time - time in terms of finding the right events to attend, time in terms of attending those events instead of doing something else, and time to follow up and maintain relationships with those you meet. Over the years, you'll learn what formats work best for you and which type of networking you're most comfortable with. For example, some people may find large conferences great for networking, while others may find this overwhelming and prefer smaller, more intimate events where they can meet and speak with everyone in attendance. Some may prefer to attend with a friend or colleague to give them the confidence to start conversations with people they don't know, while it may prevent others from meeting new people, because they end up chatting with their friend or colleague the whole time. Some may prefer formal versus informal events. Whatever works for you - use these opportunities to grow your network. 58 2 Is that still PR? Related Disciplines of Corporate Communication <?page no="59"?> How do you know whether to start by building a PR/ comms function or a marketing function, or do you do both simultaneously? Valentina · In my view, it's best to invest in marketing when you know you have product-market-fit and a product that lives up to the promise. Otherwise, you risk spending a lot of money trying to get people through the door, but they don't end up buying because the product or service doesn't live up to the marketing hype. With marketing, you're endorsing your products and services yourself, whereas, with PR, you're inviting others to do this - it's one thing to say your product is great; it's another if an unbiased third party such as a journalist or a customer says it. The latter is clearly a lot more convincing and a lot more challenging to get. How do you build the right team as you scale? How do you know the right people for startup life are the best as you become a scale-up or public company? Valentina · The truth is, you don't. Some people love the scrappiness of a startup, they love building something from scratch, and they love figuring things out as they go along. Some people love the adrenaline rush, while others can't stand it. Being in a startup is often compared to being on a rocket ship - you will hopefully make it to the moon (or whatever other planet you're aiming for), but there's a very high risk of failure, and with that comes a huge amount of uncertainty and insecurity. Working for a scale-up - i.e. a business which has reached a certain level of maturity - means the risks are much lower, and for a large institution or public company, they're even lower. Deciding which type of business - startup, scale-up or established in‐ stitution - is right for you will depend on several different factors and circumstances: ■ your past experience (i.e. if you've had a negative experience at a startup or established institution in the past, you may want to avoid similar organisations in the future) ■ the stage you are in life and how much risk you're willing or able to take ■ how much you believe in the business, the mission, the product and the management team I was drawn to OakNorth when it was a startup because the mission really resonates with me (my mother is an entrepreneur). I believe in the founders 59 2.1 On the Difference Between Marketing and Communications <?page no="60"?> and the leadership, and the team is the best I've ever worked with. The fact that OakNorth Bank is a regulated financial institution in the UK also means there's a level of transparency and corporate governance that it has to adhere to, which provided me with a level of reassurance and confidence. The other unique attribute about OakNorth compared to many other startups, especially in fintech, is that it's profitable and has been since its first full year of operation. Being profitable means it has a level of stability that often isn't found in other startups which may rely on VC funding for years to fuel their runway. I was 25 when I joined the company, I had never worked in-house before, let alone built a function from scratch, but I was eager to learn, excited about the opportunity, and able to put in the hours to make it work and was at a point in my life where I was able to take that kind of risk. However, if I'd been 10 years older and had dependents such as kids or older relatives to take care of, I might not have felt that I could take such a risk or be able to put in the late nights to make it successful. So personal circumstances can be a big factor. What does someone need to bring to the table when starting a career in PR? Svenja · When I started working in PR, companies mainly liked to see an academic background in media studies or similar, as well as good writing skills, maybe from internships at a newspaper or other news medium. While that is still important, I would recommend that you as well bring a basic understanding of how a business is working - unit economics, customer journey etc. There is no need for a full business degree but an active interest in the company's performance, market environment, and an understanding of the entrepreneurial journey ahead. It helps see the bigger picture of your employer and apply this to your communications work. 60 2 Is that still PR? Related Disciplines of Corporate Communication <?page no="61"?> 2.2 How to Make the Most of Brand in Communications Dr. Katharina Buttenberg Senior Vice President Global Brand at HelloFresh Sigrid Dubois Global PR and Communications Director at Ankorstore Luke Richardson Senior Director of Brand and Communications at Pleo Please complete the sentence: “Communications and Brand are like …” Luke · … Simon and Garfunkel. Complex, cantankerous, but in perfect harmony when together. Luke, you said once that you believe that “brand is everything”. I would disagree and say that “communication is everything”. How do you argue? 61 2.2 How to Make the Most of Brand in Communications <?page no="62"?> Luke · Communication is amplifying what already exists; it shines a spotlight on data, ideas or a story. But Brand is the story. Often elusive and ill-judged but, when done effectively, a brand harnesses a company's origin story and becomes the beating heart of a business. As Seth Godin famously coined it: “Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell.” As communication professionals, we not only have to ensure we tell tales with vigour - we have a duty to ensure that the story is worth telling. Authors can fill entire books with examples of developing a corpo‐ rate brand. What does the buzzword “brand” encompass? Katharina · The term “brand” is not defined the same way by everyone and is often reduced to the visual components and used as a synonym for corporate design or even dismissed as “non-performance marketing”. Unfortunately, this view is very limited and short-term because the brand is much more; it offers customers inside orientation and promises a clear benefit, thus ensuring a consistent and positive perception. Simply put, brands are successful when marketing expenses decrease proportionally to sales because more customers find their way to the brand organically (via direct traffic or recommendations and word of mouth) or are more loyal (i.e. customer retention increases). In this respect, brand management also has two components: customer orientation and brand positioning. A brand is oriented towards customers when it collects and evaluates feedback and further develops and adapts products and services based on customer needs. Brand positioning focuses on the strategic presentation of the brand, marketing activities, and the further functional development of the brand. Competencies in both fields must be built accordingly and grow with the organisation to create both competitive advantage and sustainable business value. What makes a good brand for you? Sigrid · A good brand is a brand that resonates with its target audience and that creates trust. Strong brands have powerful brand platforms meaningful to their end consumers and have succeeded in creating a distinctive brand personality. 62 2 Is that still PR? Related Disciplines of Corporate Communication <?page no="63"?> Katharina · I would add that a good brand remains stable at its core but continues to develop regularly and in line with the development of customer needs. This requires a close relationship between the brand and product development and clear, consistent, customer-oriented communication. The goal is always to build loyalty. Success depends on a clear brand positioning for the customer, which can be more functional or emotional. Do you have examples of very successful brands? Or also negative examples? Sigrid · I personally love Michel & Augustin, a French cookie company that successfully distinguished itself in a very competitive market. The two founders, Michel and Augustin, managed to create a “founding myth” that tells a story of friendship that everybody can identify with and that creates proximity with the brand. They have become a real “love” brand in just a few years. Who would have thought that a brand that sells cookies could make its way into supermarkets filled with shelves of cookies? Their unique value proposition lies in the fact that from the start, the desire has been to create an accessible adventure co-constructed with consumers in a fun way to accentuate the proximity dimension of the brand. Social networks are an important communication channel for Michel & Augustin. Its brand identity is reflected in a welldefined graphic universe with illustrations, a logo of its founders and a humorous tone of voice. It is an original brand that plays on humour, complicity and transparency. Another successful brand which comes spontaneously to my mind is Nike. Nike's aim is to be a powerful brand and go even further and become a philosophy of life. The brand is linked to surpassing oneself and persever‐ ance. Although the creations may differ from one communication channel to another, it ensures brand consistency in all communication channels. Nike partners with world-class sportives with impressive backgrounds to bring its brand values to life. Katharina · Amazon is an excellent example of a more functionally defined company as a brand. It has evolved from a digital bookseller to a company with expertise in logistics, media, and data. In terms of brand architecture, sub-products have been attached to the core brand (for example, Amazon Kindle, Amazon Alexa, Amazon Prime, Amazon Fresh) or left as independent brands when acquired (for example, Whole Foods, Twitch, or audible). 63 2.2 How to Make the Most of Brand in Communications <?page no="64"?> An example of a brand that has built a strong image and thus an emotional relationship with customers through its values is Allbirds, a sustainable sneaker and apparel brand from New Zealand that focuses on production with sustainable materials such as merino wool and eucalyptus. The founders' values on sustainability can be found throughout the brand and company. Buyers of this brand share these values and demonstrate them to the outside world through their purchases. Luke, in contrast to Katharina and Sigrid, you are in B2B, but you have rephrased that into “B to Bob”. Could you explain a bit? Luke · So, this is something our supremely talented Growth team conveyed to me. With Pleo, we have a pretty broadly relevant product offering: every company has to buy stuff for work, so they might as well be using Pleo. With that breadth considered, it means we're lucky enough to take a very direct-to-consumer approach in our communications and brand expression. And, for us, that consumer might as well be Bob. Bob has got a sense of humour. A favourite drink. A show they're watching on Netflix. In short, Bob's a human - not a business. Even though we offer a B2B product, there's a Bob in every company. So, with everything we do, we try to consider: what would Bob like to read, see or engage with? It might sound like a gimmick, but it allows us to maintain a reality check with every initiative that we drive. This also feeds our “on the level”, human communication style that resonates with our customers, prospects, partners and employees. Sigrid, you like to quote Peter Drucker, who once said that “the business has only two functions - marketing and innovation”. Inno‐ vation generates new products and business models, and marketing lets the world know about those innovations. Where does Brand come into play here? Sigrid · Yes, I like to quote the “father of business consulting” because he puts marketing and innovation at the centre of business activities. Today, when top managers are evaluated, the focus lies mainly on finance, sales, production, management and legal. Marketing and innovation are often missing. With his quote, he underlines the importance of precisely those disciplines. They have in common that they are imperatively customeroriented, which is essential for a successful brand. Traditional marketing focuses on products and promotion. However, today's customers do not buy products or services - they buy brands. Brands 64 2 Is that still PR? Related Disciplines of Corporate Communication <?page no="65"?> have to create experiences and create an emotional connection to their target audience, especially in a time when products are very much alike. Therefore, brand marketing which focuses on brand identity and positioning is becoming increasingly important. Brand is often organisationally hung up within marketing. At the same time, Brand also influences almost all other areas, from PR to employer branding to the product itself. How do you think Brand should be allocated in the company (and why)? Katharina · In recent decades and with increasing digitisation, marketing has evolved from a purely sales-supporting role to a driver of corporate per‐ formance and is measured as such. The brand has a central strategic role in management. It moderates the relationship between customer expectations, value propositions, and the added value that the customer receives. Brand value, therefore, always has a very long-term focus. In many cases, it makes sense for a brand team to be integrated into marketing since the brand's visual design and communication are often closely linked to marketing. Due to the disciplinary nature of the brand, management can also be mapped to other teams. However, depending on how the organisation is structured (by function or by customer lifecycle), the overarching role of brand management and its strategic importance should be clearly reflected. This also means that the Brand team needs to be staffed with appropriate seniority and that research competencies should reside within this team and strategic competencies. Sigrid · I would go further and say that, depending on the company's size, there could be teams for brand conception and brand roll-out, both under the umbrella of a CMO. The first team defines the company's brand values, ideally together with the founders and people team. Brand marketing experts then create the specificity of the brand and its personality and the tone of voice together with PR and Communications. The brand roll-out team will then work on the creative part to give the brand the right “look and feel” (logos, animations, dedicated colours and fonts, etc.). Afterwards, all other departments will have to apply the branding across their business and make the brand come to life through all internal and external communication touchpoints. This setup allows efficiency and cross-functional teamwork across all departments. As Katharina and Sigrid said, Brand is usually connected to marketing, and communications is often seen as being related, but different. Pleo 65 2.2 How to Make the Most of Brand in Communications <?page no="66"?> has integrated brand and communications into one team. What's the reasoning behind this strategy? How does it pay off? Luke · There's a symbiotic relationship between brand and comms; they feed off each other and help build a positive perception around a company. Having brand and comms combined allows companies to be more long-term focused; providing an antidote to the marketer's endless pursuit of shortterm results and attribution at all costs. We've been lucky to break down the silos in these two externally-facing, fame-making teams to create one brand and comms division. It helps drive more consistency in our international campaign efforts and unlocks a more rigorous paid, earned, shared and owned media model - the holy grail for any comms professional. You are overseeing brand strategy and exposure. What are the fun‐ damental components you need for a successful brand? Luke · To most, branding is a visual and tonal exercise - a company logo, a colour scheme, typography and tone of voice. It's all of those things, of course, but the difference between a good brand and a bad brand is depth. Many companies treat their brand as skin deep, meaning it's just the above, but the aesthetic choices should be preceded by a solid strategy. It needs to articulate why the company exists, why everyone gets out of bed every morning to do their best work, and, most importantly of all, the degree of understanding and empathy they have for their target persona and customer base. The strategy will ensure that the resulting brand feels ecstatically true for the company showcasing it - meaning it doesn't feel like marketing. Just like humans, brands evolve. While the core of a good brand has a degree of permanence, you need to ensure a degree of stretchiness in its definition and expression. This will enable you to sharpen the brand as the company evolves too. You just said it yourself: A brand develops over time - not everything is a given from day one. How should startups deal with this? Sigrid · Entrepreneurs have to focus on many different things at the beginning of their business. So they should concentrate on the essentials of a successful brand, i.e. an overall brand identity and brand message. It is important to acknowledge that brand development is a long-term project. Start with analysing who your external and internal stakeholders are and whom you want to address, then work on the consistency in your messaging. 66 2 Is that still PR? Related Disciplines of Corporate Communication <?page no="67"?> Last but not least, a strong brand is not driven by products or services, but by purpose. Katharina · A brand's name is one of the key elements that must be established relatively early. Especially in today's age of search engines, this name must be easy to remember, easy to write, unique, understandable and clear worldwide, should the company expand. If the name is changed, there is a risk of losing brand value. The brand can then, step by step, develop its visual design and adapt it over time. It is important to remember that a changed corporate design negatively impacts recognition and thus brand awareness. Loyal customers, in particular, might not react so positively to these changes. In this respect, founders should always weigh the possible advantages of a brand change against the potential loss of recognition and gradually proceed accordingly. What are the prerequisites for developing a brand? What questions should founders ask themselves? Katharina · The basis for a strong brand is always the motivation and values of the founders themselves. Their vision defines what they want to achieve with their company and how they want to make the world a better place for their customers. It is important to document and actively communicate these values and visions early on, so they are not lost when the team grows. Often, companies with strong brands have them firmly embedded in their culture and have developed rituals for how they pass that brand on. When developing a specific product (or service), it is important to under‐ stand what tasks and desires it fulfils for potential customers. What are the so-called jobs to be done? It is advisable to incorporate customer feedback as early as the prototype stage and to test as widely and quickly as possible. In addition, the competitive environment should also be defined. In this phase, the product often changes, and the target group is sharpened again, perhaps even adapted. It is, therefore, all the more important that the founders exchange ideas with customers and develop a good understanding of their needs because one of the most common reasons for the failure of startups is a lack of product-market fit. 67 2.2 How to Make the Most of Brand in Communications <?page no="68"?> Sigrid · The main requirement to develop a strong brand is to know your uniqueness. What makes your brand so special? Why should the customer turn to your brand instead of a competing brand? In order to create a strong brand, founders have to define their brand values, mission and vision from the very beginning. From there, a distinctive brand communication platform should be created which is used in all communication channels so that there is coherence in the way the brand communicates in the marketing mix (earned, owned and paid media). Suppose the founders and the team are set to take Brand seriously and want to develop a strategy. What does a brand strategy encom‐ pass? How do you get started? Katharina · Brand strategy should increase the brand's value, strengthen the position against competitors, and improve the company's overall suc‐ cess. There are various methods for planning and documenting a brand strategy. Particularly during the company's initial phase, the founders can execute the brand strategy themselves. In the first step, it is important to understand the Jobs To Be Done systematically, and the customer needs that the product fulfils. With a bit of market research skill, you might even be able to do this yourself in the beginning by talking to buyers or getting feedback from potential customers on prototypes. Based on this feedback and your own vision for the product, you can formulate an initial value proposition and benefits for customers. Once the product, target group, and business plan are somewhat clearer, it is helpful to define the brand's target image for the next three to five years. Several brand models can be used. It is best to select a model that includes value propositions and benefits, the values and guiding principles of the founders, and the competitive environment of the brand. This also allows changes to be identified and examined in the context of the other brand elements. Sigrid · A branding strategy consists of giving a personality to your brand, a universe clearly identifiable by consumers and customers. It involves reflecting the values you want to highlight across your business. A brand is what it makes your customers feel. If there is an emotional connection between your brand and the customer, they will choose your product or services instead of the competitor's product and might even recommend your brand to others. Part of the brand development is to align the goals and values of your company and how you want to express these values according to your mission and vision. 68 2 Is that still PR? Related Disciplines of Corporate Communication <?page no="69"?> You have to create a foundational brand concept where only you as a company can occupy the territory due to your uniqueness. To be a successful brand, you need to be a purpose-driven company. For example, at Ankorstore, we have undergone a brand makeover in Q2 2022. We started by getting back to the roots and reflecting on the company's identity. We asked our founders: Why was this brand created? What added value does it bring to customers in a competitive environment? Where do you want to be in 20 years? What do you want your children to be proud of ? On top of that, there were several interviews with internal and external stakeholders to understand in depth the importance of the brand to them. At Ankorstore, it was important to create a foundational brand. Our twoword brand manifesto is “Rewild Retail”, as we want to rebuild an ecosystem that is broken and help to restore it to its natural order. These foundational elements help to uncover the heart and soul of the brand. Once established, it influences all elements developed on behalf of your business. One part of Brand is strategy, but implementation and operational execution are also crucial. There's more to it than a pretty logo and a nice slogan. What else is part of a branding process? Katharina · Of course, the brand model does not live independently. A brand is not 50% science and 50% art for nothing. The next part of the task is to translate the theoretical positioning into a corporate design and tone of voice that creatively conveys the underlying benefits and reinforces them in the minds of consumers. In addition to the logo, a corporate identity includes typography, colour palette, iconography, illustration, and photography. The tone of voice refers to how we speak and the words and addresses we choose. In the beginning, typically, only a small team of people is responsible for managing the brand, so not much documentation takes place. Establishing design guidelines is a good idea as the team grows and/ or collaborates with external parties. Once the framework is set, it's time to create various advertising materials and test them in different communication channels. The corporate identity and tone of voice can be refined and targeted in this way. Digital perform‐ ance marketing channels are particularly suitable for this. Everyone is representing the brand and everyone has a stake in it, so employees are important ambassadors. Let's talk quickly about employee advocacy. How do you foster employee advocacy? 69 2.2 How to Make the Most of Brand in Communications <?page no="70"?> Luke · It all starts with a strong company purpose and vision. Nailing the verbiage around that with your founding team - or at least getting their buy-in - then trickling it downwards, sidewards and any which way across the business. Your fellow employees need to feel seen in the brand. It will encourage them to take a little piece of it with them in their daily work: whether that's how they communicate to customers, build products or hire new joiners. Beyond an email or slide presentation, I'd recommend Brand professionals take the initiative to run department-specific brand workshops, where you collaborate to define the team's specific brand identity, archetypes and mission, in connection with the company's wider positioning. As for getting your fellow employees to spread the good brand word to the wider world via social media or their networks, we've tried not to overwork it. Just like organised fun, a rigid employee advocacy scheme will stifle creativity and make it feel like hard work to fly the brand flag. Instead, we encourage a “brand as a service” mentality at Pleo, whereby any employee can rifle through our hundreds of brand assets to utilise for external purposes. They can also pitch a new campaign idea or initiative that just might be the next viral hit. While we have a team of skilled brand and comms specialists in-house, we want to make every employee feel accountable for growing and upholding the good brand reputation we have today. How do you know if the brand positioning is working? Katharina · A coherent and successful brand strategy appeals to the right customers, is perceived consistently and matches their expectations for the product. Ultimately, good positioning should be reflected in the key financial figures. However, there are also ways of measuring the levers of brand work more directly to see whether they are successful. This is often referred to as the brand funnel. The question here is how many customers are retained or lost in the process, from brand awareness to brand loyalty. My strategy would be to use surveys that ask about factors such as awareness of the advertisement, aided and unaided brand awareness, purchase intent and actual purchase for one's own brand and competitor brands, as well as the extent to which the brand's unique selling proposition and core messages are 70 2 Is that still PR? Related Disciplines of Corporate Communication <?page no="71"?> understood. Some good solutions are available on the market for collecting this data consistently and cost-effectively. Sigrid · A brand positioning works when you see more and more people from your defined target group identifying with your brand and purchasing it. As Katharina said, brand awareness surveys are helpful. You can give customers three names of different brands and ask them if they have already heard about them. If yes, you can ask them what they associate with the brands. Here the brand values come into play. In a nutshell: Your brand success is linked to building trust and brand loyalty. Alarm bells should start to ring when you create your brand, launch it and sustain it, and there is no resonance with your target group. Then it is time to reflect on your brand strategy and the marketing mix to get the message out. What can startups do on their own, and where should they seek support from agencies? Sigrid · From the beginning, entrepreneurs should clearly define their purpose, vision, and mission. They might need support in defining their brand values and creating a strong brand platform by a dedicated agency. However, the best agencies will not develop a strong and inspirational brand if the founders are not visionary. In terms of reputation building, 360° marketing campaigns should be rolled-out by specialised agencies. Katharina · Many agencies specialise in brands and offer various serv‐ ices. Depending on the competencies within the company, agencies can help structure strategy processes and illuminate them with a different perspective. Since brand strategy projects can quickly become expensive, I advise determining exactly what support is needed. What should the agency provide, what soft skills do you expect, and what should be tangible results, i.e. deliverables? Aside from agencies, some freelancers can provide targeted support. Imagine that a startup has to cut costs. The first thing that often comes to mind is to cut spending on Branding and Communications. How would you convince them that it's the wrong path to take? Luke · It's perhaps worthwhile to separate brand activations and cam‐ paigns versus brand identity here. The former is probably easier to grasp and more monetarily dependent, the latter is more imbued into the business - hopefully, the brand still exists within the company and people driving it, even if budgets are scaled back. 71 2.2 How to Make the Most of Brand in Communications <?page no="72"?> But, back to the question … I'm not sure that cutting costs is always a bad decision. Even the best brands can become bloated, insincere or lost. If a company finds itself in unforeseen circumstances - and feels like the brand is holding them back - it's an opportunity to re-calibrate that strategy and brand effort. If budgets allow, it's a good chance to bring in external counsel for support. Agencies and consultants can marry their expertise with much-needed outsider objectivity, enabling them to detect any dissonance or blind spots in the brand identity and help resurrect it. Assuming the brand is in rude health and thriving, but cutbacks are still on the menu for campaigns, there's an opportunity for any good brand and comms professional to point their superiors to the facts. Studies from recent recessions and the global pandemic indicate how firms that have taken a more offensive strategy to brand spend during unsightly times have also been quicker to bounce back. They were able to increase their share of voice and search, looking resilient, secure and credible - while the competition retreated. It's the stuff that brand leaders are made of, and helps establish customer loyalty and confidence. What do you wish you had known a year ago? Luke · Every day is an opportunity to learn, and I feel I'm trying to live that credo to its utmost in my professional life. But, if there's one thing I'll never again underestimate, it is the importance and opportunities brands have with events and community building. Following the pandemic, we've been starved of chances to come together, converse and build relationships. I've been relishing that opportunity to put a new brand thought or campaign idea to practice with a discerning group of customers, partners or peers - in person. My last question for you: What is your tip for all brand managers? Katharina · Less is often more. It is better to choose a simple strategy initially, focus on a target group, choose a clear communication, and then systematically expand it later. As a result, the brand can be easier to understand, and the product can be better aligned. Sigrid · Know your target audience, always work backwards from the customer point of view and adapt your messaging accordingly. Be passionate about what you do. It's a long journey to build a brand! 72 2 Is that still PR? Related Disciplines of Corporate Communication <?page no="73"?> 2.3 Employer Branding - from Why to How Marina Burtyleva Internal Communications and Employer Branding Lead at Vivid Money | ex-N26 Andrew Kyle Senior Employer Branding Manager at Gorillas Benjamin Romberg Head of Communications at Spendesk What is employer branding? And why is it important? Andrew · Employer branding is responsible for branding and marketing a company to attract and retain the best-fit talent. In the context of startups, employer branding is more important than ever. As companies grow, they need to bring in highly skilled talent, which will take their business to the next level. This top talent, and their relevant experience, 73 2.3 Employer Branding - from Why to How <?page no="74"?> remain in high demand. Companies have to do everything they can to identify these people and convince them to join their mission. Simply put, posting a job ad and praying the right person sees it and applies just doesn't cut it these days. This is where employer branding comes in. Employer branding teams work on many topics, such as attraction strategies and recruitment marketing campaigns, the development of target personas, managing the employer's presence on social media and reputation websites, employee and leadership profiling, running events and meetups, building and maintaining career websites, employee merchandise, and much more. Benjamin, your team at Spendesk is growing fast - you now have more than 500 people in six locations and remote. When did em‐ ployer branding become an important topic for you? And why should startups be concerned with it? Benjamin · As Andrew said, posting job ads and then waiting is simply not enough. With their ambitious growth plans, startups need to be able to find and hire a lot of new staff very quickly. If they can no longer manage to hire enough qualified people, growth inevitably reaches its limits - no matter how good the product is. Additionally, the competition in the labour market is enormous, not only in the search for developers but in all areas. For a while, startups advertising in job postings with a table football in the office and the infamous fruit basket was enough to gain traction. But that's no longer enough to stand out from the competition and attract talent. Younger generations, in particular, question the value of their work and expect to be able to combine their professional activities with a fulfiling private life, requiring more flexibility from companies. This is where employer branding comes into play, i.e. the question: What makes my company attractive as an employer? How do I stand out from other companies? The aim is to use classic marketing methods to emphasise the strengths and advantages of the company, especially from the employee's perspective, to reach and ultimately convince potential applicants. And of course, the employer brand also plays a role in binding the existing team to one's own company, which is just as important in the long term as hiring new team members. 74 2 Is that still PR? Related Disciplines of Corporate Communication <?page no="75"?> Marina, what is your view? Marina · Developing a great employer brand allows startups to spend fewer resources soliciting job candidates and instead attract inbound interest from top talent. Employer branding is a powerful tool. I believe that it also requires know-how in marketing, PR, HR and psychology. Employer branding is not only about the company; it's also a reflection of our society. Let's say the definition and components of employer branding in Germany, the United Arab Emirates and Russia will be absolutely different. When you do employer branding in Germany, work and life balance are crucial for the company's reputation: mental hotline support, childcare programme, sports courses etc. In Russia, employees will appreciate compensation benefits more: transport tickets, personal development budget, and perks. In the United Arab Emirates, nothing is more important than trust and sustainable relationships. Employer branding is at the interface between communication, marketing and human resources. Where do you think it is best placed and why? Andrew · Arguments can be made on either side where employer branding should sit within a company. What I have seen to be most common in startup companies is that the HR department is often the first to identify the need for employer branding to support its hiring goals and build up the function from within. While the employer brand borrows many frameworks from traditional marketing, they are two different functions and work best in collaboration. In this common setup, where employer branding is built within the HR team, it's important for the relevant department heads (i.e. HR, marketing, communications) to proactively align on resources to set up the employer brand for success. Building an employer brand team means considering investments in photo and video production, merchandise, events, and ongoing design support to ensure the employer brand matches the external brand. Regardless of where employer branding sits, it's crucial to have buy-in from the top. Employer branding can impact key foundations of the business, such as the company mission, vision, purpose, and values. For this reason, I would encourage the CEO to have visibility and involvement in the initial hiring for employer branding. Benjamin · I really see employer branding as a joint project between people or talent teams and marketing or communications. The former are in daily exchange with applicants and employees and, based on the feedback 75 2.3 Employer Branding - from Why to How <?page no="76"?> they receive, are best able to assess what the expectations are and where the company's strengths and weaknesses lie in this area. And, of course, it is also up to the people team to launch initiatives to strengthen corporate culture, team cohesion, and employee motivation. On the other hand, marketing can help formulate the employer brand clearly and concisely, communicate it via various channels, and ensure a consistent brand presence. Ultimately, it doesn't really matter where the department is located, as long as the tasks are clearly assigned. However, I would generally recommend leaving the responsibility of employer branding to the people team, which also associates specific goals with it, such as the number of inbound applications or a score for employee satisfaction. The marketing team then takes a supporting role in implementing projects. Andrew, you once said that there are three distinct building blocks that form the basis of an employee brand: culture, internal employee value proposition (EVP), and external employer brand. Could you explain? Andrew · Sure. The company culture is an existing element in all businesses and is, in essence, how people behave at work. This includes how the business communicates, how decisions are made, types of company rituals, and how successes are celebrated and failures are dealt with. The key to creating a distinct employer brand lies in the second building block, which is the EVP. The EVP is developed as an internal framework to inform attraction, engagement, and retention strategies and clarify how your business is positioned as an employer. Much like how the customer value proposition explains why someone should buy from your company, the EVP explains why someone should work with your company. Developing an EVP isn't something that happens overnight. You will need to identify the key leaders and stakeholders who play an active role in influencing your company culture and ensure their buy-in and participation during the creation process. Your EVP should include five main components: financial reward, employment benefits, career development, work environment, and company culture. By investing in this work, you will have clear strategies and understand how the business approaches topics like early career programmes, compensation philosophy, remote working policies, internal mobility, etc. The third and final building block is the employer brand itself. This represents the best parts of your EVP and the employee experience, which you choose to highlight externally to attract and retain talent. 76 2 Is that still PR? Related Disciplines of Corporate Communication <?page no="77"?> Employer branding is about creating a distinctive employer brand. How do you do that? Marina · Start with a simple question: “Why do I work here? ” Answer‐ ing why you chose this company instead of another one will help you understand a clear value proposition from an employee perspective. So the starting point for building an employer branding strategy is an employer brand with a clear value proposition. How do you define that? Benjamin · Ideally, the core of one's employer brand and the associated values are already in place, and it's more a matter of formulating them and getting to the heart of the matter. If the founders have a strong vision and build the pillars of the company culture before a startup moves into the scaling phase, then there is also a greater chance that this foundation will survive the growth phase when many new people suddenly join. In any case, a company should not communicate values externally that are not lived internally. This practice is not sustainable and will probably be exposed quickly. If, for example, I write transparency on my banner as a value, but current and former employees report the opposite on popular evaluation platforms, that doesn't help my employer brand. I can start with an internal survey to ensure that my own team stands behind what the company communicates. In this way, I find out what current employees value about the company and incorporate this into the value proposition. Many corporate values and employer promises are similar and, in some cases, even interchangeable. How do you differentiate yourself from the competition? Benjamin · It's certainly not easy to stand out completely from what other companies communicate. But in the end, that may not be so important. Authenticity counts more than the most creative slogan, in my opinion. That's why the values I communicate also have to come from within the team and not be imposed as empty phrases. 77 2.3 Employer Branding - from Why to How <?page no="78"?> If, for example, I constantly communicate on social media as a company on environmental protection, but then it quickly becomes apparent that there's not much behind it, that tends to hurt my own credibility. It's better not to bring up the topic, even if it might seem reasonable at the time - or, even better, to communicate openly that the topic is important to the team and that they are working on it. At Spendesk, for example, we created a project team to evaluate how we can be more climate-friendly as a company. People from different teams got together and looked for ideas. But instead of communicating externally how climate-friendly Spendesk is, we've been very transparent about the process and the team's work and what we've learned. That's more credible and even shows how employees can start their own initiatives and impact the company. Ok, you have an EVP. But there's more to an employer brand. What's next? Marina · When it comes to defining a strategy, there are five steps that I prefer to follow: 1. Understand where the business is heading. The expectations and re‐ quirements for the employer branding strategy will depend on this. 2. Understand what candidates and employees want. Only then can you offer the most favourable conditions for a candidate and an employee. Define employer branding goals and identify candidate persona. 3. Develop an EVP or value proposition as an offer for an employee or candidate. 4. Understand how to tell the EVP and in which channels to place it. 5. Execute, learn, adapt, and measure success. Let's assume you are new to a company as an employer branding manager and have to start from scratch. What would you start with? Benjamin · I would start by talking to as many people on the team as possible to understand what the employer brand is all about. With the founders to discuss their vision and the culture they have built in the company. With employees who have been with the company for a long time and with newcomers who may have a completely different view 78 2 Is that still PR? Related Disciplines of Corporate Communication <?page no="79"?> of it. The employer brand should be defined together as a team, as I mentioned earlier, and not just laid down. Then it is important to define the common goals with all those directly involved, typically HR, recruiting, and the marketing team, and see who can contribute to this. For example, who will ensure we have good photos of the next team event? And how do I make sure that I always know when something happens within my team that is relevant to employer branding? This step also involves processes and routines because, otherwise, employer branding is something that quickly falls behind in startups. Because ultimately, as with all communications, it's about finding the best stories so I can share them - regardless of the channel or format. And for that, I need to be well networked within the company and in regular exchange with all teams. Companies are increasingly competing for the best talent. Large corporations often have completely different options: significant budgets with which they can shoot professional videos and hire creative agencies, large trade fairs, their own podcasts and events, and sponsorships. How can startups score here? Benjamin · As a startup, it doesn't really make much sense to compete with large, traditional companies for applicants. After all, these profiles often don't fit into the company's own team very well. Anyone who wants to work for a startup usually knows that - at least in the short term - there's not a lot of money waiting for you here and you're often expected to be more flexible than at a listed company. On the other hand, you don't have to deal with many processes, but you have enormous creative freedom and can try things and learn a lot. If you communicate these points clearly as a startup, you already have a head start with the relevant applicants. And as far as the budget is concerned, I think the same applies to the employer brand in general: the main thing is authenticity. An entertaining DIY video tells much more about what makes the team tick than a lavishly produced image film. So the cheaper solution can also be the more effective one. Once again, the well-known principle applies: show, don't tell. If I, as an outsider, can see in a video how much fun the people have at work, that's better than having a narrator tell me that from off-screen to the 79 2.3 Employer Branding - from Why to How <?page no="80"?> accompaniment of glossy images. At Spendesk, we did a short interview with two pairs of siblings (yes, we have two) who simply talked about their everyday lives at the company. If employees recommend the company to their own family as an employer, it cannot be so bad. Marina · Sometimes, competition with large companies isn't needed. Some people like startup companies because of their fresh environment, their opportunity to build products and teams from scratch or their lack of bureaucracy. For other candidates, it is very important to work in already established processes and teams and follow already existing guidelines. I know a very small number of people who like to work in startups and large corporations equally. It's like choosing between morning tea or coffee. Both of them are good beverages, but most people have a preference. I recommend building your own outstanding office environment. You should do competitor research and see a benchmark, but use this info like “good to know. Let's do something better” rather than “we need to do the same”. If your startup company doesn't have a large budget, just give people the power and opportunity to speak publicly about the advantages of your company. They will do it naturally if they really like the company. Today, each of us has several social platforms: Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Each of these platforms is a good and free-of-charge way to speak about your cool job, office, manager and perks. There's always word of mouth. Even the best and the most attractive video can't compete with positive feedback from current employees. Our employees are a more powerful marketing resource. As an employer brand‐ ing team, we just need to ensure that we provide them with the correct tools or direction to speak about their day-to-day working life in the offices. Andrew · To Marina's point, this also presents a great opportunity for us to educate employees on the importance of personal branding. Once an individual understand how they can leverage their employer's channels for their own brand building, we tend to see even more buy-in for employee advocacy. Regardless of which team employer branding sits in, or the size of your budget, you have to make the most of the available resources. It's crucial to build relationships with existing marketing colleagues, such as copywriters or those in performance marketing, to leverage their skills, tools, and expertise. Often, the resources and tools you need already exist in the business. 80 2 Is that still PR? Related Disciplines of Corporate Communication <?page no="81"?> You might consider free platforms like Medium for blogging and thought leadership, and you can emphasise employee-generated content, which can be enhanced with branded templates. When it comes to content, remember that consistency is key, so focus on running one or two channels well instead of trying to be everywhere. You said that it doesn't make sense to be everywhere. So which channels are crucial? Benjamin · The range here is vast, and what is the best channel in each case also depends on which profiles I am looking for as an employer. LinkedIn has become very important as a channel because I can present myself as a company in a professional context and organically achieve extensive reach with interesting and entertaining content. In addition, the network is now also the first port of call for many when looking for a job, which gives me a direct link between job postings and employer branding content. Instagram offers the interesting possibility of addressing people in a private environment, which at the same time means that you have to adapt the content and tone accordingly. The channel can be interesting to bind one's own team more closely to the company - but many applicants also look at company profiles on Instagram during their research. At Spendesk, we receive a lot of positive feedback during job interviews because candidates find it useful to get to know the team better on Instagram due to the unfiltered nature of the platform. For example, we regularly let employees take over the account for a day to share impressions of their day-to-day work. But there are also many small ways to be remembered as a company that are often overlooked. For example, suppose I send a creative rejection email to candidates. In that case, it is much likelier that applicants will recommend the company and apply again in the future, even if it didn't work out this time. Incidentally, this also applies to job advertisements. It's strange when a company invests a lot to attract potential applicants to a job posting, and then it's completely unreadable because it's far too long, boring, full of errors, or, in the worst case, all three. You just mentioned that there are numerous ways to attract atten‐ tion: social media, job fairs and career fairs, your own blog, the career page, events, advertisements, sponsorships, and corporate social responsibility activities. What have you had particularly good experiences with? 81 2.3 Employer Branding - from Why to How <?page no="82"?> Benjamin · When it comes to social media, as I mentioned, we rely primarily on LinkedIn and Instagram. We've had positive experiences there in terms of reach. We've also received direct feedback from applicants that they feel addressed by the content because it provides insights into the team and is human, even though it's obviously a company communicating. And that's also the crucial thing: not coming across as a bot, even though the content and tone can, of course, never be exactly the same as in private. We have not had such good experiences with large trade fairs because a stand there is comparatively expensive, and our teams hardly ever encounter interesting applicants on site. In such cases, organising a separate, albeit smaller, event specifically for specific profiles, such as developers, can make sense. Personal branding and thought leadership from team members are gener‐ ally important factors for the employer brand. Classic PR is still an important tool. On the one hand, applicants naturally become aware of the company, and on the other hand, it makes a good impression if the company appears in well-known media when googled - ideally also with stories about the team and not just about the product or the latest fundraising. Media with a smaller reach can also be very interesting, such as a podcast specifically for salespeople where someone from the company's own sales team makes an appearance as an expert. Many companies forget that their own employees are still the most impor‐ tant because they are the most credible ambassadors for the employer brand. If the team talks positively about the company, online and offline, this is one of the most efficient channels. It is not for nothing that recommendations are also important in hiring. The incentive to recommend one's own company as an employer to friends and acquaintances should not be exclusively financial, but should also follow one's own conviction. Many companies offer high bonuses for successful recommendations. At Spendesk, we have converted this bonus into a donation to a charity of one's choice, which is also a nice story for employer branding. Marina, how about you? What has worked less well? Why? Marina · I'd love to break down employer branding channels into four segments: 1. Social media channels: LinkedIn, Glassdoor, Instagram, Twitter, You‐ Tube etc. All these channels should be used to represent different types of content. The content depends on platform-specific needs. 82 2 Is that still PR? Related Disciplines of Corporate Communication <?page no="83"?> 2. Events: Here, we can do various educational, recruitment and brand awareness focus events like meetups, conferences, workshops, career fairs, job fairs, and assessment days. 3. Career page: There's nothing worse than arriving at a company's career site only to be greeted with outdated information, bad UX or a not userfriendly interface. 4. Employee referral programmes: Good employees know good candidates. Even if the employee doesn't have a specific person in mind, the right incentive might lead to social media on a large scale. Each of the channels works well if you invest the proper resources. For brand awareness, the best promotion channel is social media, charity campaigns and co-branding activities. Referrals and job fairs work better for an increasing number of applicants. Also, each channel has a different priority objective. However, employer branding is complex. Let's say your company partici‐ pated in the biggest tech conferences to attract engineers; you invested a lot of money, human resources and time and the event attendees were pretty satisfied with the recruitment conversation. However, after the event, the candidate visited the career page and saw that it was not a user-friendly oldschool page, and the candidate already had doubts about this offer. After that, the candidate decided to check Glassdoor and found negative comments and bad ratings. The desire to be part of this company is diminishing. Based on my experience, you can build a strong brand only when all employer branding channels work. Also, keep in mind the cultural identity and specifics of the positions. The best experience for designers will be content with attractive visual parts. Creative workshops would work well for them. If we're thinking about tech candidates, they really love partici‐ pating in Hackathons, coding events or panel discussions. For students and interns, the best attraction is office tours with open presentations and Q&A opportunities. What role do corporate values play in employer branding? And how do you create values that stand out from the competition? Andrew · Company values, when properly defined and articulated, are an important tool in assessing candidates, informing how employees make decisions, and maintaining the company culture. I would argue 83 2.3 Employer Branding - from Why to How <?page no="84"?> that values should not be created by the employer brand; rather, these need to be distilled at the top by the company's leadership team. If the values do not accurately reflect the behaviours and actions of a company's leadership team, this can result in misalignment and hiring of the wrong talent. So when we speak about creating values that stand out from the competition, it's really a question of how well the leaders of a company can articulate their expectations of themselves and their workforce. Internal communications can activate the values internally, recruitment can translate the values into competency-based interview‐ ing, and employer branding can showcase the values externally through storytelling. Once you get this part right, then comes the fun part. In the context of employer branding, the candidate experience is mentioned more and more often. What is meant by this? Andrew · An interesting case study conducted by Virgin Media several years ago determined that bad candidate experience was costing their busi‐ ness $5 million annually. The premise is straightforward: your customers, and potential future customers, who have a negative experience during an interview process with you, are more likely to stop (or never start) using your services and tell others about their negative experiences. How a person experiences your company during a hiring process is a direct reflection of your brand, and it makes a case for why you should invest in your candidate experience. It's what Marina and Benjamin said before, and I fully agree. There are many ways in which you can build a positive candidate experience. By ensuring a standard and consistent recruitment processes, you can in turn easily communicate these externally so that your candidates know what to expect. Investing in training for all those involved in the recruitment process also goes a long way to providing a strong candidate experience, especially as a startup. Employer branding plays its part in ensuring the red thread is connected throughout the candidate and employee journey by aligning your communications with the right tone of voice and integrating things like your values into the process. If you think about the recruiting funnel, you have awareness, attraction, and interest at the top. These parts of the funnel are primarily supported by employer branding and recruitment marketing. At the bottom of the funnel, 84 2 Is that still PR? Related Disciplines of Corporate Communication <?page no="85"?> you have the application, interview, and hire stages, which sit directly with recruitment and relate closely to the candidate's experience. What do you see as the biggest external challenge in employer branding? And what are the biggest internal hurdles or pitfalls? Andrew · One of the main challenges for those working in employer branding, certainly in the startup environment, is finding the right balance to communicate both aspirational content alongside stories of growing pains and lived realities. No work environment is perfect, and the more willing leaders are to embrace transparency and communicate from both sides, the better you are able to paint a full picture for potential talent. Employer branding can, and should, be so much more than selling someone on table football or beer in the office. It needs to be honest and authentic, and only then will you attract the right candidates who match your company's DNA. Suppose you can be honest about the challenges of your work environment. In that case, you can encourage certain candidates to self-select out of the process and avoid overwhelming your recruitment pipelines with those who would not be a good fit. This ultimately leads to a better candidate experience and a better quality of hire. And what would be your most important tool that you would not do without? Andrew · If resources are tight and you don't always have a creative team at your disposal, I would definitely recommend Canva. Canva is an online design tool that enables anyone to create branded assets with or without design skills. It's easy to use, can be set up with your brand colours and logo, and allows for collaboration. For those new to employer branding, there is a great online community focused on the topic called Talent Brand Alliance. Several other HR com‐ munities, including the Secret HR Society and HR Open Source (HROS), are both great to check out. You've probably come across a question more often: Is employer branding worthwhile at all? Marina · Yes! A thousand times yes! It's worth it. Today, an employer's brand is much more than a nice logo or a TV ad. It is a combination of material, functional and psychological benefits that an employee re‐ 85 2.3 Employer Branding - from Why to How <?page no="86"?> ceives while working for a company. A strong employer brand improves business results: increasing the involvement of existing employees increases productivity and quality of work, which in turn increases customer satisfaction. As a result, sales grow, and the business develops. It has become important for companies to position themselves well and make a compelling statement about themselves as a great place to work. Benjamin · Of course, a certain hype has arisen around the topic, but there is a reason for that. As previously mentioned, many companies are finding it increasingly difficult to compete for the best employees and now have to become active in the search. For startups, in particular, this can become a problem during the scaling phase. Instead of only investing in a large recruiting team that has to search for candidates for every open position painstakingly, you should definitely also consider how you can draw attention to yourself as an employer. Whether it really pays off in the long term depends above all on whether I can keep my value proposition as a company. The most beautiful social media presence is of no use to me if the employer is torn apart on popular rating platforms or if the team members, as brand ambassadors, speak badly about the company in their networks. And so, the increasing importance of employer branding may also have another positive effect: many companies are now forced to look at their own culture and improve things. How do you measure the success of your work? Andrew · The employer brand impacts many different parts of the business, which means you can use a wide variety of metrics to measure your impact. From an engagement perspective, you can measure your company rating from sites like Glassdoor and Kununu and any net promoter score surveys you may run: employee net promotor score (NPS), candidate NPS, recruiter NPS etc. If your marketing department measures brand awareness, this is also something you can track. From a social media perspective, you would look at the engagement rate on your channels, the number of followers on each channel, and passive candidate applications coming from social media. When looking at recruitment, you will want to measure the source of hires and understand your talent flows (the companies you gain talent from, 86 2 Is that still PR? Related Disciplines of Corporate Communication <?page no="87"?> and the companies you lose talent to). You may establish targets to impact the quality of hire and time to hire and increase the number of employee referrals. You should also consider the retention rate and offer to acceptance rate. Lastly, to measure the effectiveness of your career website, you would track the time on site, bounce rate, depth of visit (how many pages did the candidate visit? ), site traffic, returning visitor ratio, and the application conversion rate. Your three tips for good employer branding? Andrew · 1. Before anything else, you first need to understand the company's strategy and objectives. What will the growth look like in the next 6 to 12 months? Who are you trying to attract? Are there any current challenges when it comes to retaining your best talent? Only then can you set yourself clear goals. 2. Focus on building a strong internal network, allowing you to keep your finger on the pulse of impactful employee stories and tap into other resources to propel your work forward. 3. The best way to convince your employee base to get involved in em‐ ployer brand initiatives is to start by educating them on the importance of building a personal brand. It's also important to highlight to your employees that when they share their stories and perspectives, the company is able to attract and hire more great individuals like them. 87 2.3 Employer Branding - from Why to How <?page no="89"?> 3 Organisational Challenges for Communication Teams in Startups Social media, influencer relations, consumer PR, content marketing and (employer) branding - the boundaries between PR and other disciplines are fluid. But even though marketing tells stories, HR owns employer branding, and brand specialists manage all points of contact between (potential) customers and the brand, there are still many startups that have a separate communications department. So next, we will discuss organisational specifics. Many communicators in early-stage startups wear numerous hats at once and are responsible for internal and external communications, content marketing, social media, and events - all at the same time. However, there is also the reverse challenge: scaling so fast that you need to build a team. Henning Dorstewitz from Unstoppable Finance has already built and led several comms teams. In his article, he discusses why complementary skills are so important and what to look for when recruiting (chapter 3.1). One characteristic of successful scale-ups is often their expansion into other countries. Entering a new market affects many areas of the startup - from a different language to different distribution channels or customer expectations and the need for different payment methods or tax systems. Communication is no less affected. What are the best ways for a foreign company to get coverage in the target country's media? Which is better: a strong communication centre or several independent experts in each country? As these questions are essential for many scale-ups, four experts will have their say: Youssef Gasmi from Voodoo, Mats Joosten from Back Market, Arsenia Nikolaeva from SumUp and John Shewell from wefox. They explain the challenges and opportunities in chapter 3.2. A startup is not likely to claim to have enough employees to handle all its tasks. Staff shortages often manifest themselves in communication. It is not uncommon for a small team or a sole employee to oversee several topics that larger companies can afford to hire several specialists for. Many startups then consider working with PR agencies - whether as a substitute for their own permanent employees, to supplement the team with a specific <?page no="90"?> area of responsibility (for example, PR for a foreign market or a specific target group) or as selective support for a specific occasion (be it a milestone such as an IPO or a market launch, a product launch or a communications crisis). There are communications executives and CEOs who are sceptical of agencies. What are the pros and cons of working with agencies? What are the potential pitfalls? And what does a good agency brief look like? Itziar García, Communications Director for Spain and Portugal at BlaBlaCar, knows both sides. In chapter 3.3, she addresses these and other questions and shows which success factors are crucial for good collaboration. 3.1 How to Build Great PR Teams Henning Dorstewitz Director PR & Communications at Unstoppable Finance PR is all about building and protecting the reputation of a company. Yet looking only at corporate PR is sometimes limited. Would you agree? Henning · I definitely agree with this statement. A company's reputation is built - or ruined - by everything the company does and says. You can have the most eloquent CEO equipped with the smartest key messages on a panel or in an interview, but if the company doesn't live up to these key messages, you can get in trouble. Imagine a CEO talking about how inclusive and diverse the company culture is, but everyone working at that company happens to be white male heterosexuals! ? Or you are claiming that you have a respectful and empathetic work culture, but your former employees are thrashing you on kununu and Glassdoor? As the head of comms, you need 90 3 Organisational Challenges for Communication Teams in Startups <?page no="91"?> to look at all these dimensions holistically and be an advocate for change externally and internally. You can be successful only if all your external communication lives up to what happens inside your company walls - and how your co-workers are talking about your company to their family and friends. You are responsible for the global communication of Unstoppable Finance. Just briefly, how is your communications department set up? Henning · At the moment, we are a rather small team at Unstoppable Finance. In total, we are only 30 people and the majority of the team members are working around the clock to build and launch a product that will delight our future users. My team consists of three people who look after all things PR and communications. We basically do everything that you could characterise as talking to our most important audiences either via owned or earned channels. While the four of us can cover a lot of similar areas, we all have our specialities. One looks predominantly after social media, another after research and long-term content and another one after events, while I focus a lot on press and media relations. What is your biggest challenge? Henning · My biggest challenge at the moment is to prepare for our global launch in just a few weeks' time and to get the priorities right. While our founders are quite well known in the German-speaking countries because of their successful track record at Solarisbank and the Stuttgart Stock Exchange, they are not yet nearly as known elsewhere. And we don't have our product out in the open just yet. So we need to be very thoughtful and creative about how we communicate our launch. A lot of work and thoughts go into this at the moment, and of course, a bigger team wouldn't hurt to get this all done and delivered. I learned in the past that without the long-term commitment of the C-level, Communications cannot unfold its full potential. What tips do you have to convince sceptics? Henning · Personally, I have been lucky that in every company I worked for, Communications was a priority for the CEO and the senior leadership team - so, unfortunately (or actually thankfully), I cannot speak from my own experience. But if I ever find myself in such a situation, I would try to prove the effectiveness of any communication measures in supporting the 91 3.1 How to Build Great PR Teams <?page no="92"?> company's goals. This brings us back to the aspect of measurement. If you can't afford any type of measurement yet, try to look for anecdotal evidence like a spike in customers or sign-ups after a prominent article or interview in a big media outlet. Only with the right measurement can you prove to sceptics that Communications is worthwhile investing in. The Director Comms Central Europe at Meta, Sigrid Osterrieth, once said to me that the key to building a great team is to not look for cultural fit, but for cultural addition. What is your opinion? Henning · I like this quote because it holds one eternal truth: a company's culture is constantly evolving. The main question is whether you as the leadership team are able to shape and direct this evolution or whether you simply lose control and you end up with any random culture. You can be lucky and happy with whatever the outcome is, but no one really wants to rely on chance here. So I think it is paramount to have a vision of where you'd like your company culture to be, develop your current staff accordingly, and hire the right people who can add to this vision. This is, of course, much easier said than done, and it takes a lot of work and dedication. The very senior leadership has the most important role to play here. They need to lead by example - every single day. Their behaviour will get mirrored by their direct reports and theirs by their teams and so on. Any communications team should mirror the needs of the business because otherwise there is no acceptance and buy-in of the manage‐ ment. How do you achieve that? Henning · I have also seen examples of senior leaders being so vain that they seemed to care more about their own reputation and image in the press than the needs of the business. At least that was my personal impression. I really dislike doing PR just for the sake of doing PR or just because you “can” do it thanks to your great media contacts etc. Every communications plan or campaign should follow a strategy that is rooted in and aligned with the business's needs. Otherwise, you just end up with a very frustrated communications department. To be able to show that Communications has an impact on the business goals requires a clear strategy, precise goals and good 92 3 Organisational Challenges for Communication Teams in Startups <?page no="93"?> measurement. What do your strategy and your goals look like? And how do you monitor and track your communication success? Henning · This is something that I have missed at quite a few former employers, and it was always a source of frustration for me. Good measure‐ ment is hard when it comes to communication and earned media. While you can get some indication of whether a certain activity worked well or not via share of voice and similar quantitative models, I am a big fan of qualitative research that tracks your company's reputation over a longer period of time. At Netflix, we worked with a global agency network that interviewed our most important stakeholders like producers, editors, policy makers, talents, associations etc. over a long period of time. Over the quarters and years, you could really see how Netflix' reputation in certain categories (e.g. being a net contributor to the film & TV sector) either increased or decreased. I strongly believe that this is the best way to track whether your communications team and the whole organisation are doing a good job - or not. Sometimes, not all hires turn out to be good hires. Did you already have to let someone go? Any tips to share? Henning · Unfortunately, I had to let someone go for performance reasons in the past. I won't lie: it was one of the hardest things I had to do in my career to date. I wanted to make it as easy as possible for that person, but I made it harder out of inexperience and wrong assumptions. The first mistake I made was that I wasn't clear enough about how serious the situation was. So when the moment of truth came, it came as a shock. Due to legal reasons, we had to put that person on a personal development plan before we could terminate their contract. The second mistake was that I followed the advice of my HR business partner, who kept saying, “Be prepared to be surprised how this person might turn things around! ” Even though I knew that this wasn't going to happen, the person got their hopes up again. All in all, it was an excruciating time for everyone involved. So my advice would be: to be 100% transparent and honest with that person and don't leave any room for (mis)interpretation. Coming back to the question of building great teams: How do you align the team? Henning · I spend a lot of time with candidates during the interview process in order to try to really get to know them. Because anyone can say the right things in a 30or 45-minute interview, and how do you know that they really mean what they say and aren't just telling you what they believe you want 93 3.1 How to Build Great PR Teams <?page no="94"?> to hear? By being very open and honest about my passions, strengths and weaknesses, I try to get every candidate to trust me and reveal their true self to me. If I can't get to a point where I feel that I managed to get to know the candidate truly, I have a hard time hiring them. Because I have to admit that I don't like surprises in this specific matter. I also focus less on skills and more on motivation, problem-solving, resilience, attitude etc. Diversity is also extremely important as you need as many different perspectives on the team as possible - especially if you work in a company that builds products for the mass market or a global audience. As long as you align the team on the same overarching goals and the overall purpose, my experience is that you get a highly motivated team and achieve great results. How do you deal with the fact that you can't be an expert in all fields? Henning · This is something I have had a problem with for a long time. How would you be able to lead your team effectively if they are bigger experts in their field than you? How can they learn from you? Not long ago, I read that the only real job of a team leader is to help each team member deliver their best work and help them grow into the best version of themselves. To achieve that, you don't need to be an expert in their field; but instead, you need to listen to their needs, remove roadblocks, offer opportunities for growth and show them that you really care for them and their career. That way, they will (hopefully) be highly motivated, keep growing and do phenomenal work. What's one word of advice that helped you a lot in your career? Henning · Only recently, somebody I loved working with quoted Mark Twain saying: “If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.” This quote really resonated with me as I had to learn the hard way that you always have to be your authentic self - not only in your private life, but also at work. There was a time when I was guided by the thought, “What does my team want to hear from me right now? ” and not by “What do I think or feel in this specific moment? ” This led to my team not trusting me anymore and to unhappiness on all sides. That was the starting point of bringing my authentic self to work. At Netflix, we used to call this “radical candour”, and it works when you couple it with “caring personally” for your colleagues or team members. 94 3 Organisational Challenges for Communication Teams in Startups <?page no="95"?> 3.2 How to Master International PR to Locally Adapt, Centrally Align and Come Out on Top Youssef Gasmi Communications Manager at Voodoo Mats Joosten Senior PR Manager at Back Market Arsenia Nikolaeva Head of PR & Communications at SumUp John Shewell Director of Global Communications & Public Affairs at wefox 95 3.2 How to Master International PR to Locally Adapt, Centrally Align and Come Out on Top <?page no="96"?> What are the biggest challenges in international PR? John · Timing. Trying to align different timezones for a major announce‐ ment is quite a challenge, especially when several tier-one global media outlets are bidding for the same story to break it. A close second is the nuances of languages for different countries. Arsenia · I'd say the fact that PR must really be tailored to a market and media landscape is the biggest challenge. In marketing, one can always make a decision for a pan-European approach versus a local approach - based on resources needed. And while pan-European TV campaigns, out-of-home advertising, and online marketing campaigns work less prolifically than a local campaign, they still do the job to some extent. With PR, the situation is quite clearly tending to a highly local approach. A large amount of knowledge and market research goes into a successful PR campaign. Some pan-European research comparing various countries might work, but journalists and readers look for stories that resonate. That means they need to be local and feature their country, city, or a topic that matters on a national or even regional level. It makes the whole running of PR infrastructure more complex and harder to maintain. As a side note, this does not mean not exchanging best practices or A/ B testing successful campaigns in one market across the other ones. You also get pretty good at calculating time across different time zones to make sure embargos work. If you're launching a story in Europe and the US, be prepared, you won't be sleeping for a couple of days. Mats · I'd also say coordination (especially in terms of timing) and local‐ isation of the planned content. Each country has a different media landscape that may translate into very different approaches, but the narrative and messaging should be aligned across all markets. Operating in different time zones leads automatically to the question of the best timing and the most relevant outlets; this can become a complex challenge. Youssef · What Arsenia, John and Mats have said mostly concerns reach. I would add another challenge, which is the non-dilution and control of the messaging. It is easy to lose impact and see your key messaging eroded. Will some outlets deform the nature of your message? Will localisation to other languages reshape the core message you're trying to spread? It is important to be data-driven and measure the impacts of your campaigns: what could have been done better, and what should you double down on? Being able to back this up with stats and track evolution is, in my opinion, the best way to quickly and efficiently scale communications in an expanding company. 96 3 Organisational Challenges for Communication Teams in Startups <?page no="97"?> John, you said that language is a key challenge. Can you give an example? John · Of course! Many people wrongly believe that US and British media are similar because they are both English-speaking. But US and British journalists will report quite differently on a topic. In the US, the media are quite parochial and prefer to report on companies that generally have a US presence. The UK are similar, but they will report on a story if it has a strong news value. The other aspect is in the nuance of the language and how a story is framed - certain phrases can be interpreted differently. It is similar to Germany and Switzerland - the language may be similar in some respects, but the nuances could be totally different. There is a saying about the UK and the US; they are two countries divided by the same language. The same can be said for many other countries and so Communications must understand these subtle differences when working with the media. Language is one aspect, but there are many more. No two countries are the same. How central can communication be? Arsenia · In my decade and a bit of running comms, I have created PR infrastructures in the US and numerous European markets, always from a central communication team based in Germany. PR activities can be managed centrally with a hybrid model, i.e. when either PR managers or an agency sits locally. There needs to be a local presence with strong ties to local journalists. I know of cases where PR has been managed completely remotely, but I would not advise it for a truly good result. I would also like to highlight the importance of having native language spokespeople media-trained and available for interviews. As an example, French journalists strongly prefer to work in their own language and may be hesitant to speak to management representatives who only speak English, so make sure you have people in the local management team that you can rely upon to be available for press inquiries. Suppose you really don't have a native speaker for a market in which you do PR. In that case, I suggest pushing press questions to email, which allows you to prepare answers with the stakeholder that can be translated into the local language before being sent back to the journalist. John · I have a strong opinion on this. Communications should always be central and report directly to the CEO and the leadership team. This 97 3.2 How to Master International PR to Locally Adapt, Centrally Align and Come Out on Top <?page no="98"?> is crucial. Effective communication is then designed to be audiencespecific with measurable outcomes to evaluate effectiveness in engaging the target. Therefore, Communications should be central and then have a network of smaller hubs that can adapt the messages specific to the different countries. So you all favour a global communication approach with marketspecific adaptations … Mats · Yes, because as Arsenia, John and Youssef have pointed out, this approach has the advantage that the global narrative is consistent. In most cases, not only the markets are different, but also the level of brand awareness, brand recognition, popularity, active users or customers, and competition. At Drivy, for instance, we had many carsharing competitors in Germany, whereas in France or Spain there were only a few relevant com‐ petitors. This had a huge impact on our local business and communication strategy. This particular case led to a bigger general awareness of carsharing in German media, but it also was a bigger challenge to stand out. The same messaging and communicational approach would not have worked in other markets. At the same time, this approach makes the flow of information between local and central teams highly important. I recommend defining a detailed framework and implementing processes for active and reactive communi‐ cation actions and events. Local teams should know about current develop‐ ments and activities at the top management and have access to relevant spokespersons in the central team. Trusting the PR experts on the ground and knowing market specifics is essential to communicating successfully in different markets. Especially in crises, local PR managers become front-line defenders, keeping the headquarters informed and handling media inquiries in close coordination with relevant stakeholders. Let's talk about international media relations. The media landscape is very scattered in different markets. What are your major learn‐ ings? Mats · It brings a huge advantage if someone on the ground can deliver market insights and competitor intelligence. Creating a strong media 98 3 Organisational Challenges for Communication Teams in Startups <?page no="99"?> presence in a market will only be successful if the mechanisms and specifics are understood. This is especially true for media relations, which are based on trust. A journalist who knows both the company and the local spokesperson is easier to approach. My experiences at BlaBlaCar were very similar in this regard, and I am strongly convinced that having someone on the ground, knowing the local media landscape, having a relevant network of journalists, and being able to adapt global content for a specific region brings a huge benefit and makes communication much more impactful. Large agencies, small PR boutiques, freelancers, and in-house staff - there are numerous ways to do PR in another country. What advantages and disadvantages do you see? Is it even possible to generalise? John · This all depends on the business, its market category, and its growth stage. Often, it is convenient for startups to hire a freelancer to begin with to get the coverage and scale the fees according to the company's growth. However, the startup must have a clear plan to build its own inhouse communications function. As a general rule of thumb, it is never wise to outsource your narrative. My advice to any company is always to allocate between 1% to 3% of their total funding round to invest in PR to build awareness of their brand, to establish credibility in the market and attract fresh rounds of investments. The return on investment, if executed correctly, should deliver the equivalent value of around ten times this investment. So if a company closes $5 million, then the return should be around $0.5 million worth of target audiences' awareness of the brand and generating inbounds from the target. If the target is investors and the inbound generates a new round of funding that exceeds the previous round, then the PR has played an important role in that endeavour. Startups that think in this way generally succeed faster than their peers and a good communications professional will always aim to build their startup's brand narrative with the next funding round in view. The aim is to own your narrative by building your own in-house communications function and only outsource the non-core aspects of the business, which is the media support. Everything else should stay in the house. 99 3.2 How to Master International PR to Locally Adapt, Centrally Align and Come Out on Top <?page no="100"?> Arsenia · There are a couple of things to keep in mind. First, whether you have a local in-house team or manage PR activities from a hub or headquarters. It is of utmost importance to have people on the ground, so if you have PR managers locally that have a strong journalist network, great. If not, having a PR agency locally will yield results on a much larger scale. I am a big fan of boutique agencies versus large multinationals. This personal preference is based on the seniority of the team that you usually work within smaller agencies, as well as the boutique agency team becoming the arm of your internal team. The amount of care and time that they give to your projects is something larger agencies very rarely deliver. A good freelancer can also work very well, especially when a company is only considering doing PR in a specific market and wants to run a test to see how its story and brand resonate with the local media. They can also be of great help when auditing the local media landscape and ROI calculations. Mats · My learning is that it is the people you work with who make the difference. However, hiring someone external for PR is always an investment, which makes the question of who to work with less important than knowing what you are looking for: What can be done in-house? What do you want the freelancer or agency to achieve? Why do you want it? And how is this paying into your overall strategy and company objectives? Ok, so let's look at concrete examples. How is your communication set up in the individual countries? Arsenia · We do PR in highly heterogeneous European markets. On top of having different languages and media landscapes, European countries tick differently regarding press stories. An article that had huge success in Italy will not necessarily be picked up in France. There is a lot of learning and A/ B testing to how international PR is done, and finding what works takes time. Our setup is built upon a strong internal team of PR managers sitting together in the Berlin hub. Each PR manager is responsible for running one specific market and PR agency that sits locally. This allows for truly largescale PR and knowledge and best practice exchanges between the markets. John · We operate a “hub and spoke”-model for our communications. At the centre is the strategic communications (our headquarters), which defines the overall communications strategy for wefox and this is adapted to fit each country level and business unit so that we meet the local needs of our 100 3 Organisational Challenges for Communication Teams in Startups <?page no="101"?> target audiences while ensuring we are closely aligned with our corporate objectives and overall strategy. To ensure an effective reputation management, there must be an “iron triangle” between the CEO, the senior leadership team or the Board and the communications function. At the very least, there must be a direct line of engagement between the CEO and the director of communications. This is the absolute minimum requirement, and corporate communications should strive to have a seat at the top table to help shape, drive and defend the business's reputation. How about you, Youssef? Youssef · Although being a French firm, Voodoo is an English-speak‐ ing company. All of our global communications are in English, and the messaging remains consistent and universal when addressing studios and developers around the world. We aim to deliver a strong, straightforward and simple message to highlight our unique selling points that will benefit the studios and developers throughout their journey. We leverage conven‐ tional PR channels through global, industry, and more niche media, but we also have more direct ways to communicate with our community, such as our Press Start blog, a bi-monthly live stream, in-house events and other more traditional social platforms. What goals do you pursue with external communications in other countries? Are there any differences? John · We have a high-level communications strategy that sets out very specific objectives that must be measured and evaluated. The execution operates at the global, market or country level and business unit or product level. All activities must flow upwards to support the overall corporate strategy, which must support the overall business strategy for the business. This is the “golden thread”-principle because there must be a clear alignment from the overall corporate strategy right the way through to the frontline of each country and business unit. Arsenia · As with any PR department, there are many different goals. Our main goals are to improve brand awareness through storytelling and research and position the company and management team as thought leaders. Being part of the conversation is of utmost importance for any company. PR can help you find the entrance points and worthy 101 3.2 How to Master International PR to Locally Adapt, Centrally Align and Come Out on Top <?page no="102"?> discussions to share the brand values and point of view in various markets. PR can help in the consideration phase, where your potential clients compare various goods and services providers. Some strong product PR in trusted media publications can make a huge difference and drive acquisition. There are no significant differences in goals, as they must be unified and aligned, but approaches and tools used to reach the goals do differ in various localities. One great thing about PR is being in contact with very different stakeholders. Who are your most important target groups? John · Our most important target groups are our staff and customers, investors and partners. As a purpose-driven business, we must communicate a consistent message to our target audiences to ensure that they understand exactly what we stand for and the reasons for our existence. This permeates our business because we want to make sure that we encourage our people to become the best version of themselves. With wefox, you managed to get a breath-taking amount of inter‐ national coverage - even in media from Arab and Asian countries. How did you achieve that? John · That would be giving away our secret sauce. Effective strategic communications is characterised by measurable objectives that have been properly researched and evidenced. Then there is a lot of planning that goes into the design and delivery of these campaigns. We will spend several months planning the execution, including the overarching narrative and the specific key messages that flow into the narrative arc, media and presentation training with pivot points to ensure that we are never sidetracked. We will also identify the most effective channels to access that will deliver the largest reach specific to our strategic objectives and the infrastructure we need to ensure that we can go beyond traditional media relations. We also spend a lot of time researching the media landscape in relation to our peers to identify the key trends and topics that are being discussed within our sector so that we can define the “narrative space” to frame our messaging carefully for the company. There is a lot of work that goes 102 3 Organisational Challenges for Communication Teams in Startups <?page no="103"?> into these communications campaigns - the media release is only the end product, and even then, we tend to pitch the story before even sending the media release to the journalist. Successful PR also involves knowing about important events and trends in the target country. How do you do that? Arsenia · Keeping an eye on the local press is probably the most important piece of advice I can give. You are halfway to success if you know which topics are being discussed, how the legislative landscape is changing, and which conversations your company should be a part of. Social listening tools can be of great help. Set up notifications that will alert you of breaking news related to your specific topics of interest. These can be as simple as Google updates or could be a specific and more sophisticated tool - Brandwatch, Meltwater, or similar. These tools will also show you which publications write on topics your company has a point of view on and where to join the conversation, including the names of journalists who write in your industry. Youssef · The first few steps would be to do weekly press reviews, social listening, trackers, and keep up with product releases and market trend evolutions. Also, within the company, it's crucial to remain connected with all key stakeholders to stay up to date with ongoing projects. Another important element is to stay connected by tracking all industry events and attending the most relevant ones. It would also be good for you to create your own native events if possible. Mats · A great way to stay up to date about relevant events and trends is to follow relevant journalists, politicians, and thought leaders as well as relevant media outlets that are covering subjects that are linked to your business. I also find it very fruitful to be in touch with your peers at similar companies, always a great source of information. How about using data and proprietary research? Arsenia · This is pure journalist gold, so I suggest that even the most creative and humanitarian PR experts learn to love data and Tableau (or similar tools). Most startups have tons of proprietary data from which they can devise trends and learn, or even predict changes in specific fields in which your startup operates. This is something that really works and helps to position your company and internal spokespeople as true thought leaders in your market and industry. 103 3.2 How to Master International PR to Locally Adapt, Centrally Align and Come Out on Top <?page no="104"?> A startup expands into another market. The task: to get into the media in the new market as well. What would be your three tips? Youssef · Leverage your existing community to spread this message, build a strong press release with the biggest relevant outlets you can aim for, create a landing page explaining all the intricacies and objectives of this new segment and rinse and repeat in your socials to expand the reach. Arsenia · First: Audit the market. Have an understanding of the media landscape, topics of interest, and what journalists write about them. As a result, you should clearly understand tier-one publications, a list of journalists to approach, and topics that your company can comment on with thought leadership. Find out what your consumers read locally and at which touchpoints across the user journey you can reach your target audience. Second: Have a clear strategy with objectives and tools to get you there. Ask yourself the following questions at the start: ■ Who is your target audience in the market, and how and where do they consume media? ■ How and where does your target audience research their decisions on what product or service to buy or engage with? ■ Based on the answers to the two previous questions, what percentage of business v. consumer press do you want to garner coverage in? ■ When do you need investors to be exposed to the brand message, and which publications make sense for this goal? ■ What sort of publications can help with SEO and backlink building? And third: Decide what approach and infrastructure you will need in this particular market to reach your goals. Agencies, freelancers, press wires, or a more targeted outreach? A/ B test and record learnings, then repeat and scale approaches that work. Mats · Arsenia is right to mention how important it is to identify relevant media targets and define clear market-specific objectives of what you want to achieve. I would add one last thing, and that is patience. Think long-term and be willing to invest in PR, some things may take some time before they pay off. 104 3 Organisational Challenges for Communication Teams in Startups <?page no="105"?> Managing communications in several countries is demanding. What should communications managers pay attention to? Arsenia · The flow of communication is very important. When you work with multiple markets, make sure that creative ideas are passed on and tested across those markets and share best practices and learnings. I always suggest a diverge-and-converge collaboration approach where creative brainstorms are held with press agencies per market first. Afterwards, the internal team of PR experts meets to discuss the results and come up with collective output based on the best ideas - keeping in mind that some will still be executed in selected markets and not everyone has to run with every idea. John · There are four things always to consider. The first is gathering local intelligence in as many ways as possible by utilising both formal processes and tools and informal methods. The formal processes and tools include monitoring tools, and the informal methods are asking your teams and the journalists operating in those countries you are doing business in. Nothing beats local knowledge, so pay attention to it. Ask a lot of questions and never assume anything. The second is developing good systems that can flex and scale. It is vital to building simple systems that ensure there is a coherent and consistent approach to communications that can be adapted to fit the various countries. These systems should also have a regular feedback loop to ensure that local intelligence is being successfully captured and the outcomes of local activities are monitored. The third consideration is measurement. It's important to have the right tools in place to track, measure and monitor communications. The fourth and final consideration is being flexible to change and being open to accepting that some things may fail if you want to do things quickly. So, accept the whole endeavour as an open-loop learning process and keep refining what you're doing. (And have a sense of humour because things will inevitably go wrong, so you've got to have some perspective, and never take things too personally. Otherwise, you won't innovate, and you definitely won't enjoy the experience.) All of this should form the basis for an effective communications frame‐ work. Mats · A communications manager should pay attention to three main aspects: 105 3.2 How to Master International PR to Locally Adapt, Centrally Align and Come Out on Top <?page no="106"?> 1. Have a great sense of communication opportunities and know when to use or create them. 2. Know how to handle several internal and external stakeholders and manage their expectations. 3. Build a strong network of relevant contacts. How do you measure the success of your communication? Arsenia · Ah, the million-dollar question! It is incredibly hard to put a value on storytelling, isn't it? Therefore, it is very important to collect and report data that is understandable to both the management team and the organisation at large. We look at the number of clippings and our potential reach, as well as the number of press releases pushed to market. We then track sentiment and look at the number of tier-one publications secured. However, my advice to any PR specialist is to advocate for a good attribution model within your company. That way, more detailed data on the number of leads and sales that your initiatives bring is clearly reported. There is no better way to show the value of PR activities. If this is not an option, looking at referrals and organic search traffic could give a good indication of the brand awareness you create. Mats · There are many qualitative and quantitative objects to measure, such as clipping volume, sentiment, audience reach, media relevance, quotes, picked-up key messages, and many more. Startups tend to measure every‐ thing, but more importantly, in my opinion, is the question: How does this coverage or clipping pay into the overall business strategy and objectives? John · I agree. It all boils down to the objectives, and an objective is only relevant if it can be measured. If it cannot be measured, then it is merely a statement, and the communication is simply an exercise in hope, which we all know is not the basis for a strategy. We use a number of approaches to measure our communications objectives, including episodes of media coverage relevant to the topic, the volume of positive sentiment, the overall reach and, in certain circumstances, the actions of a specific target audience that we want to influence through the media engagement. We are currently exploring credibility scores as part of a more strategic approach to reputation management as we seek to define a set of reputation scores that we can measure. 106 3 Organisational Challenges for Communication Teams in Startups <?page no="107"?> When expanding, companies invest early in marketing and sales. In contrast, they often neglect PR. Is that understandable for you? Youssef · I don't believe there's a right or wrong path to adopt in that perspective. It's very relative to the ratio between time, resources and projected or desired output. In my experience, it is important to focus on a product first before having strong elements to promote in its regard. A story is only interesting if worth being told, so I'd tend to monitor time opportunity cost closely in the early stages. That being said, I also think it's important to maintain a minimum effort in building brand equity at the beginning of an entrepreneurial journey. It's key to have this pedestal to build on when the right moment arrives. Creating habits within your community, whether your communications are B2B or B2C, will pay off - having a mouthpiece is important from day one. Arsenia · I agree. PR is a long-term game. When opening a new market, I advise companies to set up a PR infrastructure two to three months before launch. This allows them to gather momentum for a big bang from the offset. If this is not possible, a large-scale marketing campaign with out-of-home advertising and TV (when possible) will have more immediate gains. However, the return on investment from PR done well is incomparable. Good storytelling, research, and thought leadership results in coverage and visibility that will help to save any company millions in advertising costs. So in a nutshell, prepare for a long road ahead and manage expectations when it comes to PR activities. Educate the organisation on the benefits of PR and have data reporting in place to show results. John, how about you? John · This is a huge error of judgment that many companies make, and it can become a very costly mistake because the media can make or break a company's reputation. It takes years to build a reputation and only days to destroy it. The intelligent founders and CEOs implicitly understand this and prioritise communications to ensure that the company's reputation is carefully managed. The fundamental purpose of good public relations is to build trust through credible media channels, and this is generated by delivering newsworthy 107 3.2 How to Master International PR to Locally Adapt, Centrally Align and Come Out on Top <?page no="108"?> stories that journalists value. Evidence shows that people trust independent journalism over advertising simply because advertising is paid-for content, whereas PR is hard-won media stories. The difference is what we call the “trust gap”, and PR plays a powerful role in closing it. In addition, the investment to credibility ratio for PR is hugely valuable. PR is often about five to ten times cheaper than advertising services, yet effective PR can generate up to ten times more value than advertising, so the cost to credibility ratio makes PR the much smarter investment option. A positive story about your business in the media through the efforts of PR can cost tens of thousands in a tier-one global media outlet like the Financial Times, CNN, CNBC, Forbes, or Bloomberg. These media channels command significant credibility and so their advertising rates reflect their status as premium media outlets, which is why an effective PR operation can deliver regular media stories in these outlets at a fraction of the advertising cost. PR is also about building credibility and audiences trust journalists more than advertising, so the investment is a no-brainer for the intelligent founders. All the startups that have experienced hyper-growth scale often have one thing in common - solid media relations. Just name the top five German startups that have generated huge investment rounds - yet are still in an early stage -, and you'll see that they have a common theme: they've all been in the media. This has a dual benefit of increasing their profile for very little investment (compared to advertising) and attracting more investors. It becomes a virtuous circle, and the good quality PR professionals understand how to make this work. If the CFOs of every company worked this out, they would not only be saving huge amounts of money shifting their budgets to PR from marketing, they would be generating huge returns in terms of brand equity through the media, which often leads to increasing their deal flow and better chances of securing future investment rounds. Of course, we need to distinguish between strategic communications and ad-hoc PR because many hyper-growth startups have generated a lot of media attention, and some of it has not always been positive. Strategic communications understands the business and works closely with the senior leadership team to guide the business in terms of how it conducts itself with its various stakeholders, including customers. That is the difference between strategic communications and ad-hoc PR. However, the bottom line is that investing in strategic communications should be a no-brainer. 108 3 Organisational Challenges for Communication Teams in Startups <?page no="109"?> Which questions should all startups and their founders ask them‐ selves? John · Great question. I'd say: 1. How will the lives of the people they serve be different because of them? 2. What do they want to be famous for in 10, 15, or 20 years from now as a result? 3. What would happen if the world didn't know any of this? If they can answer these questions, then they would start to realise that the media is a crucial stakeholder in their journey, and so they should be able to conclude that strategic communications is a vital part of their investment and growth strategy. 3.3 Working with PR Agencies - From Coexistence to Collaboration Itziar García Communications Director for Spain and Portugal at Bla‐ BlaCar BlaBlaCar operates in 22 markets and already has more than 100 million members. Your customers come from all over the world. Yet, you are managing PR in quite a small team. How do you manage it? Itziar · My work is very national, just like my work in governmental relations. There are areas in which international coordination is essential, but which have much more “local” fieldwork. My day-to-day team comprises both my counterparts in other countries, whose work is very similar to mine, and my colleagues in Spain, with whom I always work in close coordination. 109 3.3 Working with PR Agencies - From Coexistence to Collaboration <?page no="110"?> Additionally, I work with a PR agency and an agency for governmental relations. You worked for six years at Burson-Marsteller, now Burson Cohn & Wolfe, and at Edelman, both renowned agencies. Now you are “on the other side” and work with agencies. What can a PR agency do that startups can't do on their own? Or do agencies simply offer additional capacity when needed? Itziar · One of the advantages of having worked with agencies is the solidity they bring. Startups are often made up of very young teams: they are very smart, have a lot of enthusiasm, but do not have much experience. In the early years, it was key to partner with agencies that had a good track record and focused on more strategic advice. However, just like people, startups also mature. For example, now that we have been operating in Spain for more than 13 years, we are not that young anymore nor do we need the same services from an agency. I think it would be a mistake for an agency to just do the same work that we are doing because part of its strength is to see us from the outside and offer a different perspective. An agency can easily avoid the biases that often arise within companies. They can also provide better advice and develop and execute tactics more creatively. Agencies work for several clients at the same time. This has the advantage that they see a lot and bring a large network of contacts with them. But it also has the disadvantage that they don't know the company as thoroughly. How do you see it? Itziar · I have worked in agencies handling more than ten clients at the same time, and I have worked in agencies handling a single client for an entire year. Both experiences have been enriching for me. I agree that, in general terms, this is one of the great advantages of an agency: meeting many clients and many communication directors, each with their own way of thinking and acting, knowing many sectors and structures … It's a very interesting job, though you can't always dig deep. It also depends a lot on the person: if they are curious and want to learn, it's best to involve them. That way it's a win-win. 110 3 Organisational Challenges for Communication Teams in Startups <?page no="111"?> What do you look for in an agency? Itziar · That depends on the projects and tasks at hand. I don't always look for the same from an agency. Nor do I always recommend the same agencies to my colleagues. I think it depends on the stage the company is at, its needs, its maturity, its team, the budget, the projects, the creative needs etc. In my opinion one of the most important tasks of any director of communications working with an agency is to make them feel part of the project - because they are. They need to feel free to contribute and challenge us so that we can improve together. What are the features of a good agency briefing? Itziar · Clear objective, concise techniques, and attention to detail. In your view, what are the three most important success factors for good collaboration? Itziar · The first is trust. A client-agency relationship cannot be main‐ tained without trust. Companies don't just want to hear good news; they want accurate analysis. Because what we want is to learn from mistakes, if there are any. And the agency will not be able to do its job well if the company does not trust them, of course. Second, I would add agility. Our industry is too fast to allow us to not be agile. And third: professionalism, which includes honesty, attention to detail, technique, knowledge, and intelligence. Let's talk about money. Some agencies work on retainers; others are performance-based or do specific campaigns. What experience do you have with those different modes of working together? Any tips to share? Itziar · Working in an agency, I have had many retainer clients, and I had to adapt to many specific campaigns or projects. I think it's good if the agency is used to different expectations and ways of working. As a client, the truth is that we almost always work with the same agency, because we highly value their knowledge of our sector and thus save time. It's a relationship based on trust. How do you manage agencies well? Itziar · It's good to talk about the relationship. Praise what has been done well and be honest about what you believe has not been done well enough. If you don't do this, it can become entrenched. You don't have to get defensive; you must try to empathise and be professional. I would say 111 3.3 Working with PR Agencies - From Coexistence to Collaboration <?page no="112"?> that you need to know about communication. If you don't have enough knowledge, insecurities may show up where they shouldn't. In contrast to marketing, measuring PR success can be tricky. How do you measure the success of PR agencies? Itziar · We are getting closer and closer to being able to measure factors as abstract as reputation, and this is good news. However, I don't think we should be obsessed because it only gives you part of the picture. Communication is much more than what metrics such as clippings or advertising value equivalency may suggest. That is why I think measuring a PR agency by quantitative results alone would not tell the whole story. An agency might do an excellent job two years in a row, with very different external conditions. So in one year, there might be several big corporate announcements. In the other year, there are no big milestones, so the agency focuses on a 360° campaign with marketing, PR, social media etc. Super creative, but with a different impact. We should never measure our success in terms of purely quantitative values. Success in PR is about always being proactive and professional. After working as a client, would you go back to working in an agency? Itziar · Yes, absolutely. 112 3 Organisational Challenges for Communication Teams in Startups <?page no="113"?> 4 PR, Yes, But How? From Strategy, Tactics, and Monitoring The first chapter should have made it clear that external communication is important. Yet, where do you start? What is needed? What are common challenges and misconceptions about PR? Malena Heed from Einride and Alejandro Viquez from Kahoot! give a fantastic overview of all the steps needed to manage startup communications successfully (chapter 4.1). The next chapters each select one of these aspects and dig deeper. To begin with, Julia Barthel and Tom Levine, both directors at Brunswick Group, discuss the importance of narrative. As humans, we are wired for storytelling, and startups should cater to this basic human need to become memorable. Julia and Tom show how to come up with a compelling narrative in chapter 4.2. Norval Scott from Tractable looks at PR strategy (chapter 4.3). A strategy lays the necessary foundations to achieve the communication goals. It can be looked at as the blueprint for a house. It has a clear floor plan, a division of rooms and a defined exterior. The tactics, on the other hand, are your building materials. Do you want a roof made of tiles or wood? Floors of parquet or tiles? Windows with plastic frames or wood? Both must fit together because without stable walls, the most beautiful doors and windows are useless. Yet, without any interior design, your walls will never become a home. Katia Ballano Göring, PR and communication manager at ID Finance, discusses PR tactics and individual instruments in chapter 4.4. Starting with a benchmark analysis, she derives the right action points and narrows down the target media. Katia also touches on the importance of media relations and expectation management. Next is Juliane Kiesenbauer from Staffbase, who shares her broad knowl‐ edge of PR campaigns (chapter 4.5). Campaigns are a series of planned activities that all have a specific purpose and are working towards one of the goals that should be outlined in the PR strategy. Usually, campaigns are limited to a fixed time frame. So while the strategy outlines the big picture, and the tactics outline the steps you need to take to achieve your strategic goals, campaigns bring both aspects together and narrow it down towards one specific goal. <?page no="114"?> How do you know you're on the right track? How do you know that your tactics, instruments and campaigns are performing well? Clara Herdeanu, Head of Communications at Xayn, addresses this question in chapter 4.6. Rounding out the chapter is lawyer Lucas Brost, who explains the basics of media law (chapter 4.7). We all make mistakes - but what happens if the media gets it wrong? Do you have to live with every piece of critical coverage? Lucas knows the answers. 4.1 The Secrets of Positioning Your Company Through Corporate PR Malena Heed Global Communications Director at Einride Alejandro Viquez Communications Manager at Kahoot! What is a common misconception about PR? Malena · A former manager once told me, “it's beneficial if it's true”, which is an old-school and risky way to view PR and the reason why the trade has such a bad reputation. The substance is more important than spin. Narratives that are not rooted in intellectually rigorous arguments 114 4 PR, Yes, But How? From Strategy, Tactics, and Monitoring <?page no="115"?> tend to be quickly found out and cause cancellation. Journalists are not dumb, and if you try to bullshit them, you'll quickly lose their trust and attention. If the reporters don't call your bluff, their viewers or readers soon will. Your three reasons why startups cannot do without external commu‐ nications? Alejandro · PR helps to build trusted relationships with partners, consumers, media and, in some cases, governmental institutions, which is essential to any growing business. Communication professionals are a great driver to let people know what the company or business they represent is all about. A good PR strategy built on trusted relationships can become a key differentiator for startups, scale-ups, or already established businesses. PR is also a profession that helps businesses deliver messages beyond traditional media. Many businesses used PR as a driver to place stories in the media and broadcast through building relationships with editors, radio and TV anchors, and journalists. Today, we have many communication channels that companies can use to deliver compelling stories and messages. Often, startups and businesses of all sizes communicate with their audiences through blog posts, social media posts, and even through advocates of the brand who will be willing to deliver a positive message about a business because they trust it. Finally, PR is all about reputation. Any business is highly exposed to reputational damage or reputational issues. Negative articles on mainstream media can cause a big loss of brand reputation. Therefore, startups and large enterprises should lean on PR to become a pillar to sustain their reputation continuously. Today, PR professionals have many tools to monitor their brand reputation. Businesses can measure the number of conversations and the number of articles in which their brand, product or service has been mentioned. Trust is built on brand reputation. It takes hard work and a long time to establish the positioning of a brand and maintain a good reputation among audiences, but it takes very little for any business to compromise its brand 115 4.1 The Secrets of Positioning Your Company Through Corporate PR <?page no="116"?> reputation, particularly when information travels at the speed of light in social media channels. In your opinion, what are the weaknesses or limitations of PR? Alejandro · Perhaps one of the major limitations of PR is how busi‐ nesses decide to measure their PR results. Sometimes, PR results can be measured by their accomplishments in relation to their yearly or quarterly communications strategy. Other businesses measure their PR results through return on investment (ROI). This can be a great perform‐ ance indicator concerning their PR campaigns. Often, some businesses blend both measurements across their communication channels, such as the impressions on their website, click-through rates or lead generation. It's possible for any business to keep track of both, and it is up to their management teams to determine how to use each of them. What is the biggest external challenge in your job? What is the biggest internal challenge? Alejandro · The pandemic has brought new challenges for communica‐ tion professionals. Ten years ago, public relations professionals and their different stakeholders had more time to work together and invest time in building personal relationships. Today, emails and virtual meetings are taking over, which makes it much more difficult to interact truly. I believe the pandemic has also impacted how large, medium, and small companies interact with their employees. Businesses of all sizes are adopting hybrid and remote working models, and that greatly affects their culture - regardless of the industry. Therefore, communication and public relations professionals need to work with HR departments to identify how employees feel, think and express themselves about their employer. Naturally, each business will implement its strategies, but I believe that companies capable of listening, understanding and communicating with their workforce will be able to reduce the number of resignations or ghosting at their workplace. Malena, you worked for Uber, iZettle, and now Einride. Any chal‐ lenges that are typical for startups? Malena · Startups typically have two main challenges: not much money and not much brand awareness. This means PR plays a crucial role. If done right, it can be an effective and budget-friendly way to make your name 116 4 PR, Yes, But How? From Strategy, Tactics, and Monitoring <?page no="117"?> known and your message heard. Unlike marketing, which is simply about paying attention, PR is about earning attention. It's about adding value that generates awareness, not the other way around. What advice would you give to someone who's just getting started in the industry? Malena · First of all - learn the basics. One of my mentors told me that any comms professional should be able to write a decent press release in no more than 15 minutes - because that's all the time you'll have in a crisis. When I interview young communications professionals, I often get surprised by how many just want to do “strategic communications” and aren't comfortable working hands-on writing press releases and pitching to the media. To set a successful communication strategy, you need to learn PR craftsmanship, understand the tools at your disposal and experience first-hand what works and what doesn't. This is especially important at a startup, where the teams are lean, and you often have to do most of the work yourself, at least in the beginning. At iZettle, one of the co-founders and Chairman of the Board, was the best proofreader I've ever had. He could call me late at night, suggesting we add a comma to a certain sentence in a press release. Caring about the basics is key to success. Secondly, know your beat reporters well enough to have them to your house for dinner. A strong relationship saves time and yields interesting information about the industry or competitors. Meet with them frequently to catch up, not just when you have news to share. Third - work the floor and talk to customers. When doing comms at a startup, you often need customers to speak on your behalf, promote a product or defend you when things go wrong. They'll also provide interesting insights and perspectives you haven't thought about before. Like with your beat reporters, you need to have them on speed dial. Last but not least: learn to express yourself directly and clearly. When I studied journalism, we were taught to communicate like you're speaking to a thirteen-year-old, and it's even more true today when most people are drowning in corporate messages and have the attention span of a teenager. Don't use complicated words just to show off. Physicist and Nobel laureate Richard Feynman once said that if you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough, and I couldn't agree more. 117 4.1 The Secrets of Positioning Your Company Through Corporate PR <?page no="118"?> What is one of the most common mistakes a startup makes when setting up a PR function? Malena · I find that some startups are too eager to behave like a big corporation and have endless discussions about processes or internal slides. As a startup, you have the advantage of not being stuck in old ways and structures, so don't seek it. You have the opportunity to move fast, be bold and try new things and you should take advantage of that while you still can. In the words of Voltaire, “perfect is the enemy of good”. The biggest mistake you can make is to do nothing. Venture out of the safety zone of internal slides as soon as possible. A PR strategy defines important goals, target groups, channels and messages. However, a strategy does not answer the question of how … Alejandro · I believe that the magic of PR is that you can implement so many different tactics to communicate a message. If we talk about traditional PR, trust and media relations should be part of every communication plan. One of my first tasks, when I started my career, was to build a media database with contacts for newspaper editors, lifestyle magazines and influencers, among others. As basic as this sounds, it became the foundation of my job, and up until now, I do invest time in refreshing my media database as it's a key component of our global strategy. Moreover, PR professionals working on a global scale have a big challenge of understanding which strategies and tactics will work best locally. While the principle of PR remains the same across the globe, media and journalism work differently in each country and region, which means there is no “one size fits all” strategy. For me, PR agencies have become indispensable in every market we operate. In my experience, I have required the services of local PR agencies in regions like West Africa, East Africa, Europe, North America, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the Asia Pacific. First and foremost, this has allowed me to grow my network worldwide, and secondly, it has helped me understand which media tactics are worth implementing in each country. I find the brainstorming process with each agency fascinating; they can bring creative and successful campaigns to the table that we can implement as part of our PR and global communications plan. In terms of tools, I found extremely valuable software solutions that can provide you with measuring and reporting of your PR campaigns and your social media campaigns, such as Meltwater, Muck Rack and Sprout. Such 118 4 PR, Yes, But How? From Strategy, Tactics, and Monitoring <?page no="119"?> solutions are also indispensable for me as I can get a better overview of the trends and factors that can impact the industry I'm working with due to the tool's capabilities and the team's ability to support us to make this possible. We are talking about PR instruments, tactics, activities, measures or campaigns. What are the most underestimated instruments? Malena · Many communications professionals think social media is be‐ neath them. Meanwhile, it's more important than ever. The press has become so disaggregated that simply communicating through traditional means is woefully insufficient. Social media should bring a sense of spontaneity and accessibility, amplify the positive, and push back on the negative. Product demos are another underestimated tool. Don't be afraid to lead with your product; it's what people love about technology companies. What you say about your product doesn't matter as much as what your product actually does. For most journalists, a demo is worth 100 emailed pitches or interviews. Kahoot! is the most successful startup in Norway. You have shaped the communication strategy for some years. What is your secret sauce? Alejandro · We have a shortlist of clear communication objectives we follow to identify how our campaigns best support our company's business goals. We try to be as granular as possible when describing these communication objectives to share them internally with our communication partners and our business areas. When our colleagues come up with new initiatives, launches, or creative ideas, we align these to our communication goals and try to find the best communication strategy for them. An architect can precisely calculate the statics of a house to hold securely. An engineer designs the machinery in advance so that it works. How can communication managers make sure that cam‐ paigns are successful? Malena · Great campaigns are about great storytelling, which requires heart and emotion. These are traits that don't come naturally to tech startups. You need to show the very human impact of a startup and how it affects society and people's lives. Great campaigns also require great planning. The nature of what we do requires planning - time to shape a story, shore up third parties, or land a column from an important member of the opinion elite. There are always 119 4.1 The Secrets of Positioning Your Company Through Corporate PR <?page no="120"?> last-minute issues with any big campaign, but the best way to guarantee a successful landing is to plan ahead. An important part of that plan is setting clear objectives. PR has tradi‐ tionally been quite reactive - and much still is. This means that a lot of the time, PR gets away without setting tangible targets. Like any department, setting clear objectives tied to business goals, not just what needs to be communicated, is key. We all learn from failures. Let's share yours: What were your biggest learnings in the past when doing external comms? Alejandro · I would say that one of my biggest failures would be missing opportunities. This is by far one of the most frustrating failures I've experienced as a PR professional. I try hard every day to avoid this mistake, so I've developed a sense of identifying opportunities. The challenge now is assessing the opportunities and deciding which ones we take and which ones we should let pass. And on the positive side? Any decisions that turned out to be gamechangers in communications? Alejandro · Teamwork, ideation and choosing an adequate message have been the key components to making impactful and meaningful communi‐ cation. Identifying that our audiences understand our messages is the true game-changer because this gives us better opportunities to address the needs of our customers, but it also opens a new opportunity to explore ideas with our partners internationally. Even in the life of a successful startup, there is usually a point sooner or later when all the stories have been told, and the next big milestone has not yet been reached. A familiar theme? And if so, how can you bridge the lean period? Malena · Every startup will now and then have a lean period. When that happens, it's important to remember that repetition never spoils the prayer. Messages take time to sink in, especially in today's noisy media environment. That's why the most effective communicators repeat the same message repeatedly. The trick is to find new and interesting ways to say the same thing - maybe it's an opinion piece, internal data, an external survey, an inspiring customer journey, an interview with a charismatic leader or a Christmas party for your journalist friends. Tap into current news and hot topics being discussed outside of your company that are relevant to what you 120 4 PR, Yes, But How? From Strategy, Tactics, and Monitoring <?page no="121"?> do. A lean period is not an excuse to sit on your hands, but an opportunity to get creative. It's also the reason why it's so important to not just focus on the messaging or the news, but to have a point of view on your startup's role in society - when that is set, then there is always something to talk about. It allows your company to discuss what you're working towards in the long term, even if you're not there yet. Alejandro · I believe this all comes together through the communication plan and strategy for the year. If businesses consider that their company will go through a lean period of PR stories, the communications plan should be bulletproof to avoid such periods. Something that works very well for me is to stay connected with different teams and business areas. For example, a sales team can provide you with very valuable customer stories, and with good planning, PR professionals can fill the gaps of lean communication periods. Another alternative I implement in my communications plan is the editorial calendar I mentioned above. This calendar gives the team enough milage to identify which creative campaigns we can develop based on the seasonality we are into. This allows us to explore new ideas and find ways of generating content and telling stories that may catch the attention of our audiences through different communication channels. Last, but not least, I would say that social media never stops and demands content and stories to keep audiences engaged. Lean periods of communica‐ tion can be very well filled in by improving social media strategies, creating new content or simply planning what will come next for the business. What are the most important media outlets for a startup to be seen in? Malena · You need to hunt where the ducks are. While Wall Street Journal and TechCrunch are important channels to reach investors, most people don't read them. The best comms teams pitch and land stories where the general population will see them: in mass-media consumer publications, local TV and radio, and social media. When I was at Uber, my mother refused to try the service until we landed a positive story on a local news channel. She trusts the local news reporter more than her daughter, and that's how most people work. And remember - investors are people too. Think about what will get them talking to family and friends at a dinner party. 121 4.1 The Secrets of Positioning Your Company Through Corporate PR <?page no="122"?> Finally, a difficult question: Startups always discuss whether and to what extent PR contributes to the company's success. How do you see this? Alejandro · I think PR is, without question, a key pillar of any company. People will never know what you are doing, your purpose, or how exciting your business can be if they do not add PR as part of their growing business strategy. Malena · We're exposed to more messages and have shorter attention spans today than ever. Meaning it's harder to cut through - you can have the best product or service, but if no one knows about it or if you can't reach, connect with, or move people enough to try it, then success will be hard to come by. Once you are successful, there will likely be many who will very quickly try to copy what you do. PR is one of the few key levers you can use to help you stand apart and stand out. The most common way to measure the effect of a PR campaign, launch or announcement is to look at the number of articles, reach, sentiment and what that kind of media exposure would cost. While it can be convenient to use those numbers to highlight the importance of PR internally, the numbers are far from perfect. The real contribution is hard to quantify. On the flip side, we all know the very damaging effect of bad PR. In the words of Warren Buffet, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.” Any startup that has lived through a media crisis knows this. 122 4 PR, Yes, But How? From Strategy, Tactics, and Monitoring <?page no="123"?> 4.2 Growing Your Reputation Through Your Corporate Narrative Julia Barthel Director at Brunswick Group Tom Levine Director at Brunswick Group Why would a startup need a narrative? Why tell a fairy tale when the convincing argument should simply be growth? Or profit? Or the fun of using our product? Tom · The easy answer first: because we're wired that way. Ask memory athletes who can memorise the orders of freshly shuffled decks of cards: to store the card line-up in their synapses; they translate it into storylines (a walk along a pre-chosen route for example) to make it memorable. The linguist Steve Pinker puts this down to our preference for the visible world: a third of the human brain deals with vision. A good story is basically a way of visualising the data we're trying to store. We think in stories, at least most of the time. Evolution has made us that way. So it's all about creating lasting memories? Julia · In business, it is, unsurprisingly, a bit more complicated. At Brunswick, we don't develop corporate narratives for our clients to create happy memories, but rather because narratives are an essential device for corporate resilience. The product or service you have devised might be 123 4.2 Growing Your Reputation Through Your Corporate Narrative <?page no="124"?> impressively brilliant, but its superb qualities won't help when you need to explain a production fault, a hiccup in your supply chain or a cyber security failure. Your financial performance or shareholder value might be impressive, but they won't safeguard your corporate reputation if it's hit by allegations of poor leadership behaviour or inappropriate business practices. Tom · The only thing that helps you in these kinds of crises is a clear compass - and thus the ability to safely assess what you need to say, how, when and to whom. You will probably never forget your product completely, but in nine out of ten cases (this number comes from non-scientifically proven experience), any talk about the brilliance of your product will make your crisis worse. You need to portray what you're doing in a much wider frame. But what is this wonder narrative, and how does it work? Tom · A proper corporate narrative answers six questions: What made you start what you're doing (catalyst)? Why is it important (relevance)? What is it you're offering or producing (product)? How do you offer/ produce (process)? Why are you the best at this (competition)? And what is the benefit to society if you succeed (purpose)? Answering these questions usually gives you a pretty good first layer of messages that you want to convey. Seems pretty straightforward … Tom · Well, then let's test-drive this pattern with an example from a big tech player that some might be familiar with. “We found computers to be much too expensive for ordinary people (catalyst). To leap-frog digitisation (relevance), we designed our very own digital machine (product) in a garage based on a comparably cheap CPU and sold it for 666,66 USD via a computer club (process). Because we massively believe in innovation, we used the profits to build even better computers, and we repeated this forever (competition). That's why a lot of people on planet Earth now use a certain brand of computers to do great things for society (purpose).” Great story, some say. Convincing for early investors. Great for a book that tells the story of the successful founder as well. However, this kind of narrative might appear a bit stale for a modern startup. We mention 124 4 PR, Yes, But How? From Strategy, Tactics, and Monitoring <?page no="125"?> that because we see the “garage story” quite a bit in startup circles. The founder's “rags to riches” story seems quite amazing at first, and hearing about their “eureka” moment is often fascinating. But garage stories have their challenges, too. The first one is obviously that the product, service or brand becomes “chained” to the founder. If they one day fail to deliver or if they get involved in something not so brilliant, the product, service or brand is completely without protection. The second reason to shy away from any garage talk is that the story quickly gets pretty boring. Stories of an individual's success, often from humble beginnings, are of course inspiring. But they can only last so long as the basis of a corporate narrative - you need something more substantive. You work with both fast-growing startups and established corpo‐ rates. In your experience, how does the narrative development proc‐ ess differ? Julia · To begin with the obvious, startups don't have the luxury of being known. If you hear the name of an international company, from a fast-food chain to an insurer, you immediately have a first association, a visual image, a gut feeling. It's a starting point for your mind - and it provides for lots of “colour” to work with (in a good or in a bad way). Meanwhile, startups are a blank canvas. They may have a great product and an inspiring founder's story, but to external audiences, they are just like any other new player in any given market. A convincing narrative is their first chance to set themselves apart. To tell their story, explain the problem they're solving and how this fits into a wider context. But starting from scratch also means asking some fundamental ques‐ tions. After all, the narrative needs to be in line with your heritage, your product, your growth strategy and your company culture. It's not an easy task. You will need a lot of discussions (and time investment), and ideally an external person to help get your message across. Companies often underestimate this part of the process. Some even hope that they can outsource it altogether. But just like you can't design a personality for someone, you also can't develop a corporate narrative without a lot of input from the corporation itself. 125 4.2 Growing Your Reputation Through Your Corporate Narrative <?page no="126"?> Can narrative development go beyond PR? Julia · It has to, especially for startups. Because it is not that “terrific” product that will motivate employees, inspire investors and draw talent to a company, it's the story. Compelling narratives help companies recruit better, attract investors, land more media coverage and build a stronger corporate culture. Consequently, narrative development is really a CEO-level issue. And it can lead to surprising results. Tom · We have seen narrative development processes in the past turning into a game-changer. We have seen founders or management teams change track as they realise that they had been focusing on topics that are not “storyrelevant”. We've seen structures being adapted to the storyline rather than the other way round. Because suddenly, people became aware of the reasons underlying some underperformance or lack of progress. Julia · This can be especially helpful for early-stage startups. Even when you don't have a final product, a narrative gives perspective and helps others understand what you are working on. Compelling narratives can be a real lifeline when a startup faces the typical early-stage challenges, from finding investors to retaining employees to attracting new talent. Change is inherent to the life of a startup. How do you adapt a narrative, if at all? Julia · As the world around you changes, your narrative may also need to evolve to remain authentic. Look at what's happening around you. Are there any major societal shifts affecting the nature of your business? For example, the increased awareness of sustainability may have fundamentally affected your business model. Pivots are normal, but they need explaining. Similarly, has your position within the market changed? If your narrative was founded on the “David vs Goliath” story, but you have grown to be a major player yourself, you may need to update your narrative to remain credible. If you want to break out into a fundamentally new sector or industry, this might also need explaining. Not all new product lines or market entries require a complete narrative shift, but whenever your company is changing track or has achieved a new market position, it may be worth reviewing whether your narrative still fits in with your reality. Such a review will be time well spent. Because every minute a company invests in refining its narrative is also a minute spent thinking about its corporate strategy. In successful startups, these go hand in hand. That's what 126 4 PR, Yes, But How? From Strategy, Tactics, and Monitoring <?page no="127"?> makes a great narrative. Oh, and one more thing: learn from the memory athletes. Make your story memorable. 4.3 PR Strategy - Aim for Goals, Stick to Targets Norval Scott Global Head of PR and Communications at Tractable Let's start with a provocative question: do startups need PR? Don't they rather need a good, successful business model? After all, with economic success, awareness and reputation automatically improve … Norval · I agree, they don't necessarily need PR, and it's a question that should be asked. A business can grow perfectly well without any PR or marketing at all - indeed, my current company, Tractable, did exactly this for the first few years of its life. However, at some point, you will hit a wall. It may be that you can't hire the amazing staff you need to scale because no one has heard of you or what you do, or you can't find new customers. Or you may encounter a legal or regulatory issue that you can't get around as you have no profile. PR can help you overcome it. When discussing strategy, some may think of hundreds of pages of prose defining exactly what to do and not to do, what to say and what not to say etc. Without going into detail, can you give a rough idea of what a good PR strategy should look like? What questions does it have to answer? 127 4.3 PR Strategy - Aim for Goals, Stick to Targets <?page no="128"?> Norval · You don't need a massive playbook. To be honest, the most important element is to get out there, try different things, and succeed by doing. No PR was ever achieved by writing out a strategy - it's earned by connecting stories well with reporters. That said, some guiding principles can be really helpful. My cheat sheet for any tech company looking to develop its approach would be to think about four potential pillars of PR that you can achieve: ■ Company: ie, general news about success and growth (funding rounds, hires, expansions). ■ Customer: stories and case studies about those who are benefiting from using your products. Very important for your own news channels (social media, blog, website), but also potentially for the trade press. ■ Product: improvements to what you are actually producing. It can be a bit dry, but super important to your customers and tech press. ■ Thought leadership: why you do what you do and why it matters. Suitable for your channels, but also potentially tier-one press if you find the right subject and angle. Then, I'd look to try and push a story or campaign in each of those pillars in a set time period. For example, if you are just starting, a fair objective might be to put something out in each pillar every quarter. This approach is useful as often, a company and its leadership will just push stories in one or two of these pillars and neglect the rest. For example, if the CEO thinks they are a genius, then they will do lots of thought leadership, a product-oriented company will just talk about its tech, or if they are very sales-y, then it will be all about customers. That results in your PR becoming very one-dimensional and boring, and also means you aren't building your company brand in all the areas you need to for it to scale. Instead, by making sure you are trying to reach all these touchpoints, you ensure you are communicating different aspects of the company to multiple audiences. And you'll also learn far more about what impact PR makes on your business. You have lots of experience when it comes to defining strategies. What are your greatest learnings? What are the most common pitfalls that communicators run into? 128 4 PR, Yes, But How? From Strategy, Tactics, and Monitoring <?page no="129"?> Norval · The most important questions that need to be asked of any PR initiative are: “Why are we doing this and what do we want to achieve? ”; and “What is the benefit to the business from this? ” Fail to answer that and you waste time - both yours and that of people like the founders - and resources that could be better spent elsewhere for greater impact. What do well-formulated PR goals look like? Norval · I'm not a massive believer in setting formulaic targets for cover‐ age, such as ‘x number of stories per period’. It can encourage you to “cheat” by aiming to generate easy coverage - for example through newswires and republication of press releases - than anything more meaningful or thoughtful. What a company should do is ask itself: “What PR would be most impactful for us to support achieving our business goals? ” For example, if it's getting in front of potential customers, then you need to work out what the people who might buy your product read and are interested in and how to be in those publications. If it's hiring, then you need to promote the company's vision and mission and culture. Work out what is achievable and what makes the biggest difference, and work backwards from there. The odd thing with strategy is that you need to remember it's all about execution. Any tips? Norval · Absolutely, a brilliant pitch or campaign is worth nothing if you can't carry it out. Most newsrooms now are staffed by inexperienced reporters that are churning out more stories per person, which means attention spans are short and attention to detail even shorter - so you have to have everything in place to have a chance to cut through and avoid mistakes. So your basics need to be on point - are your media lists up to date, are your contact details readily available, is your boilerplate clear and does it make sense? Funnily enough, a way around that execution problem is to involve senior leadership. Nothing helps a founder to “get” why a story isn't landing than when you ask them to pitch it themselves to a reporter, and I'd recommend setting your founders a target of making connections with at least one or two key journalists - which will not only help with cut-through, but also get them thinking more about how your company and stories are perceived externally. And it may generate some useful two-way relationships, too. 129 4.3 PR Strategy - Aim for Goals, Stick to Targets <?page no="130"?> The most important asset is actually understanding what is interesting to a journalist and why they might write about your story, and the key to that is what is often called the “nutgraf”. The nutgraf is the paragraph that tells the reader ‘this is why this article is important and why it matters to you’. It's usually the second or third paragraph in every news story, and with a bit of practice, you can identify it in almost every news article you read. (It's also the most difficult for the reporter to write.) When you are pitching a story to a reporter - however you do it - you need to understand what that nutgraf in their story will look like, which means you have to work out why your story matters to them and their readers. This doesn't just help you communicate the pitch successfully to the journalist, but it also then enables them to justify why they want to write this article to their editor, which is just as important. Essentially, if you can't work out with a PR campaign what your nutgraf is and why your story deserves attention, don't communicate it - go away and work out what it is first. Let's use an example: One colleague would like to invest € 3,000 in the production of short videos for LinkedIn, and the other colleague suggests that the budget would be better invested in a survey for a data PR story. Based on which criteria do you decide? Norval · I'd apply two criteria to this: 1. Most important - which activity would result in more impact for your company in terms of meeting its overall business goals? 2. Not as important, but it still needs to be considered - which can you actually carry out successfully with the resources you have? For example, you may have no one in-house who can produce a quality video, meaning any production will likely fail. It's mind-blowing how often PR and marketing departments forget about the specifics of execution when strategising. A question about international PR: approaches vary from a central‐ ised approach with strong corporate communication in the home country to decentralised, independent communication units in the individual countries. Still others work with agencies. What advan‐ 130 4 PR, Yes, But How? From Strategy, Tactics, and Monitoring <?page no="131"?> tages and disadvantages do you see in each case? What is your ideal setup? Norval · Most of my PR roles have involved international work, which is challenging on multiple fronts, be it language, the difference in approaches, or not knowing the landscape. Having someone to help is often critical; equally, it's amazing what you can achieve on your own with a bright idea, online translation, and an email. A good pitch at the right time, in the right news cycle and to an interested reporter really can get your startup on the front page of the New York Times. As a result, I lean more towards a leaner approach where you take on the work in-house, not least as I'm not sure that many startups actually have enough news to justify employing full-time international PR agencies. I have employed some in key markets, but I mostly do this on a campaignby-campaign basis, rather than on retainer. When language has been an issue, I've even used our in-country sales heads to lead on pitching to trade journalists, with more success than you might expect. At Tractable, we have recently expanded the team with a full-time US PR lead. I've been very fortunate that she is extremely motivated and talented, and the hire has massively increased our reach and impact in our most important market. PR people communicate in the interest of the company. But some‐ times, there may be unpleasant topics to report. Layoffs. The busi‐ ness figures are worse than expected. A market entry is delayed. How transparent should external communication be? Norval · I often feel that journalists misunderstand my role and what I am employed to do. My job is not to funnel stories, although, of course, it does involve that; but my priority is to promote and defend the reputation of the company. That means that not talking about something is absolutely fine. Look under the hood at any company, and there are elements that it won't want to share, and the PR person's responsibility often is to work out how best to communicate these positively or to keep them away from view altogether. For example, in one previous role, my company had a minor data breach, and the founder's first instinct was to run to the press to tell all. It took considerable persuasion to convince him that we really didn't have to reveal our dirty laundry to the world; instead, we quietly informed our customers and resolved the situation, and the world was none the wiser. 131 4.3 PR Strategy - Aim for Goals, Stick to Targets <?page no="132"?> That won't always work, and when you do have bad news that needs to be communicated, it's important to be transparent. In addition, journalists usually aren't unreasonable and may surprise you by being sympathetic, especially if you previously established a relationship. The most important tool that you wouldn't do without under any circumstances? Norval · A surprising answer, perhaps - my credit card. I've always worked in industries filled with people that don't want to talk to me. When I was a journalist, it was oil and gas executives; now I'm in tech B2B PR, it's overworked tech journalists. To overcome that, you have to get people to realise that you are worthy of their time and trust, and (despite COVID) that's still best done in person - through coffees, lunch, dinner, events and drinks. Your best contacts are your friends, and journalists are much more likely to give you and your stories the time of day once they know you and you aren't just a voice on the other end of the phone. Equally, some of the most important connections I've made in my life have been by coincidence - because I made an effort to go to an event that I didn't have to, or spoke to someone who turned out later to be really vital. Sadly, those connections usually don't happen if you stay at your desk, in the office or at home. 4.4 PR Tactics - Power-Up Your Plan of Action Katia Ballano Göring PR & Communications Manager at ID Finance 132 4 PR, Yes, But How? From Strategy, Tactics, and Monitoring <?page no="133"?> Many people confuse strategy with tactics. Let's focus on the latter. What is your approach to defining PR tactics? Katia · There is no infallible nor unique recipe, not one formula to manage communications successfully. When I start working on a new project, I find it key to know the business strategy and main business goals to ensure all PR and communications actions are perfectly aligned. In the end, the strategy should help to push toward these goals. So, the best way to do this is to start with meetings with the managers of the most relevant areas. This will give you a first-hand and deep understanding of the business, its particularities, and the communications needs each manager detects. In addition, it will be of great help to articulate the narrative later on. Besides, you should use these conversations to find out which of these managers are more suitable to become company speakers. Maybe they already have some experience acting as spokespersons with the press and at events. Also, ask if they feel comfortable with the idea of speaking in public or with journalists. Find out what has been done in comms and analyse what has worked well and what should be improved or avoided in the future. Observe and analyse the corporate channels (website, social media, blog, etc.) and assess whether all the messages align and are consistent with the business activity and goals. What image do these channels portray? What organic media coverage has been generated before you joined, both in quality and quantity? Are there mentions in tier-one media? What about the trade media? Are the news stories about the company positive, negative, or neutral? In addition, find out which events the company has taken part in. Are there sector-relevant events the company missed? If that's the case, find out why - maybe it's a matter of budget, or these relevant events haven't been properly identified. Does the company participate in awards? Has it been awarded organically, or has it paid for them? All these are questions you should ask yourself and try to get a response to. My final advice is to build on what has already worked and discard what isn't efficient. If something works, use it and enhance it. How about benchmarking against competitors? Katia · For me, this has always been an unpleasant task. I mean, it's one thing to take a close look at what competitors do. But it's another thing to create a comprehensive document detailing what they do best and what they don't do so well, opportunities for improvement inspired by competitors, and so on. But even if it is arduous, writing it down in an orderly and structured 133 4.4 PR Tactics - Power-Up Your Plan of Action <?page no="134"?> manner is the most helpful thing as it clarifies your mind. Usually, other areas already have benchmarks; maybe they are approached from a different angle, but they might still be very helpful. Ask your colleagues and managers which competitors are interesting to analyse and which ones they like best. In addition, I like to note down my thoughts on paper while preparing the formal benchmark document, as these roughly drafted ideas can sometimes be surprisingly helpful later on. When I don't write them down as they come, I can easily forget them. Once you get it done, this document becomes valuable. The hard work pays off, as you now have a consultative paper that you can always refer back to when gathering ideas. For you, creating a PR plan is a must. How so? Katia · Because it helps you pin down what should be done. Define the communication goals, which should be 100% aligned with the business goals, and define how they should be achieved. Remember that there might be several goals in different areas (HR, legal, investor relations, finance, etc.). Map out the main stakeholders, as this is very useful to keep focused on whom you want to impact. Besides, you should consider the media and journalists you want to address - a media map is also a must for me in any communication plan. In addition, note the most relevant events and awards that are key for the company's sector. Here is a little list of what, in my opinion, a communications plan should contain: ■ What do we want to achieve? (goals) ■ Whom do we want to impact? (stakeholders) ■ How can we achieve it? (e.g. events, press releases, sector-specific articles and whitepapers, corporate website, and social media) After that, it goes into more detail regarding the execution: ■ What narrative do we want to tell? ■ Who should be the spokesperson involved? ■ Which media outlets do we approach? Which owned channels do we use? ■ What is the timeline? 134 4 PR, Yes, But How? From Strategy, Tactics, and Monitoring <?page no="135"?> Sometimes, you make the perfect plan, and then reality turns every‐ thing on its head. Does that ring a bell? Katia · Well, yes. Even if you plan every detail, look for the most suitable timing to make an announcement, and have a brilliant strategy, a good approach, and an interesting focus, there is still a factor beyond your control. And that is luck - or bad luck. To give you an example: Last year, the company I work for registered its best financial result, with a considerable increase in turnover and profit. So, I carefully planned everything to get it published in at least one of the three main financial media in Spain, if not all three of them, as the journalists covering the fintech sector had shown interest. I sent the press release to them in advance, with the agreement to not publish it until the next day. I also offered them a background conversation with one of the founders. Early in the morning of the next day, Russia invaded Ukraine. This was really shocking and unexpected. As a result, stock exchanges plummeted worldwide, and you might imagine how frantic journalists were that day. This unexpected and sad event changed their agendas, and our star milestone went almost unnoticed. So these things happen. I try to make the best of it and keep moving forward because there will always be new opportunities and plenty more chances to make announcements and generate broad media coverage. Some companies maintain PR calendars, i.e. they work according to a content plan. What is your opinion on this? Katia · For me, it's very useful to note foreseeable milestones in a calendar, events we will participate in, and awards we apply for in advance. It helps me organise myself better and coordinate with other teams. In addition, I would advise prioritising actions, ranking them from 1 to 3. It might seem annoying, but it is a great tool to keep things in order and ensure you don't forget things, especially in times of intense work. You mentioned the importance of a good narrative - a prerequisite for getting the journalists' attention … Katia · Absolutely. Writing the narrative is key to carrying out all the upcoming communication activities. It represents a key element that sets the tone and the messages that define the company, its essence, and its mission. So you should ask yourself how the company contributes to the economy, society, and community. What is its unique value proposition, its unique service or product offering, and what values does the startup embrace? 135 4.4 PR Tactics - Power-Up Your Plan of Action <?page no="136"?> Writing a missionand purpose-led narrative is crucial, but it's not an easy task. So my advice: if you feel overwhelmed or don't feel confident with this task, look again at your benchmark and think about narratives you like from other companies, even if they don't belong to your sector. And if you still feel blocked, ask for help. Talk to the marketing team; if there is a copywriter, ask them for help. Talk to the managers and the founders to find out how they perceive the company, its mission, and where they see the company in the future. And if you still feel lost, reach out to an agency if you have the budget. Media relations are key to effective communications. How do you build good relationships with the right journalists? Katia · Map out which journalists are key for your company's sector in tier-one media and get in touch with them. Understand their interests and find out how the company you work for is perceived (do they know your company, what do they know, what do they think of it, etc.). Arrange a coffee, and prepare yourself for the meetings. Always get back to inquiries quickly, even if you reject them. Be nice, polite, and as helpful and forthcoming as possible. The ideal relationship with a journalist should be a quid pro quo. Also: be persistent. Journalists often ignore emails, which is completely understandable, as they receive loads of them daily. Remote-working jour‐ nalists after the pandemic are way harder to reach than in times before COVID. If you don't have their mobile phone numbers, there is no easy solution for this. Keep trying, insist per email, and be creative. I have lately identified some journalists who published several interesting news features about the sector of the company I currently work for via LinkedIn and Twitter. Some might not answer, but don't stop trying. You never know. What do you think of events for journalists, such as press conferen‐ ces or similar? Katia · In my opinion, a press conference does not make sense unless you announce a huge milestone, for example, the decision to get listed or the acquisition of a key competitor. Even if you have a huge milestone, a video call should be sufficient. It's less time-consuming and cheaper for you and the attendees, as they do not have to travel. COVID has caused a major change here. 136 4 PR, Yes, But How? From Strategy, Tactics, and Monitoring <?page no="137"?> What and how should startups communicate? Katia · Let's start with the “what”: Topics that might attract the media's interest include corporate milestones such as important partnerships, finan‐ cial results, customer numbers, expansion to other markets, and new lines of business. Now for the “how”. Sending a press release containing your company's relevant announcement doesn't mean it will get proper media coverage. So it is very important to read the press - all of it or at least as much as possible about your sector. Closely follow the agenda of your sector, the main events, the most important dates, and the subjects that are covered in a more general, sector-related way. Observe what your competitors announce if they have a recurrent presence in tier-one media. In addition, you should know which journalists write about your sector and what type of content they usually publish. When defining the strategy and content for your announcement, consider all that. Make sure your announcement or press conference doesn't coincide with the announcement of a big, listed company because journalists will prioritise them. And if the political agenda is currently getting a lot of attention, the probability of getting media coverage will shrink significantly. So choose your timing wisely and make sure the content of your press release is relevant for journalists and not purely commercial. When there is a relevant announcement, it might make sense to prepare a brief strategic document outlining the announcement's goal, focus, and targeted media. What is the key message? And how will you go about approaching the media (your tactics)? Will you send a press release to all media, a certain subset, or maybe offer the information in advance to one major tier-one media outlet the day before with an embargo? In addition, prepare a Q&A with sensitive questions journalists might ask and how you will answer them (which might also be “no comment”, depending on each case). It should be reviewed and agreed upon with the top managers. Are there subjects that are unlikely to get media coverage at all - no matter how much effort you put into it? Katia · I think so, yes. For example, if you send a press release highlighting your app's features, functionalities, and services, it won't get any relevant coverage. So unless there is an additional goal beyond achieving media coverage, it is not worth wasting time on it. Any subject that has a commercial approach is not likely to get published. Some media might offer to publish it as branded content and therefore ask for a fee. The same is 137 4.4 PR Tactics - Power-Up Your Plan of Action <?page no="138"?> true for awards or rankings, even if they are relevant for the sector. Use the corporate channels instead (website and social media) - these channels might generate awareness amongst the stakeholders who closely follow your activity, thus reinforcing your reputation. Don't waste resources and time if it is not necessary. Any tips to gain additional awareness when your startup is un‐ known? Katia · Indeed, startups with a disruptive and original approach and a unique value proposition generate interest, especially when they launch a new app or close a strategic partnership. Besides those major milestones, getting regular media coverage won't be easy as big companies will always dominate. Luckily, it is not all about making announcements and sending out press releases. Participating in the sector's most relevant events in your main markets and choosing one or two key international events is important to gain awareness among the sector's players and journalists. If you don't have enough budget, you must be selective and creative. So one thing you can do is speak to your bigger partners who provide critical tech and infrastructure services and ask them to invite you to panels and key events as speakers. It will help leverage your relationship with partners looking for a win-win approach. It is also important to join sector associations as they have more firepower to defend the sector's interests in case of regulatory threats. They also regularly organise events and conferences your company might like to participate in. Before you join, make sure it is worth paying the associate fee. Therefore, look at the associates and determine if there are key competitors amongst them. Search for media coverage, look at the number of followers they have on social media, and look out for the impact of their events. Make sure they have the reach and influence your company needs. To pay or not to pay, that is the question … What is your opinion, Katia? Katia · Personally, I am against paying for any branded content. Most of the time, there is almost no return. That not only applies to advertorials and other paid content but also to awards. It is common to get contacted by an organisation or media outlet you never heard about, telling you your company has been awarded or is a finalist for a particular award. Be aware, as this is a trap. They will ask for money in 90% of the cases. It's better to participate in renowned awards that usually do not require payment. 138 4 PR, Yes, But How? From Strategy, Tactics, and Monitoring <?page no="139"?> Regarding events, my opinion is slightly different - at least for major events. It might be positive to invest that money for your company to participate, even if they are expensive. One last word of advice? Katia · Manage expectations and be realistic. So if you plan a media campaign to announce an important milestone, look at other competi‐ tors communicating a similar milestone and assess whether you can achieve a similar result. Is your company as well-positioned as these competitors? If yes, you might easily achieve a similar impact. If not, be realistic and, above all, share your view with your managers. Don't foster high hopes if you cannot fulfil them. Be flexible. When you work for a startup, you should be aware that it is a fast-changing environment, and even if you have designed a great strategy, things might change fast, and you should be able to adapt quickly to the new situation. Stay positive. Be creative. Be ready to improvise. There is no guarantee for success. There are always external factors that might get in the way. Don't get discouraged if things don't turn out as you expected. There is opportunity in every situation - even in failure. So if a campaign doesn't work out well, maybe you can come up with an idea to still gain some awareness even if it is not what you planned initially. Take good care of your contacts. Improve your relationship with key journalists, professionals, and stakeholders. Help them whenever you can, and don't feel embarrassed to ask for something as well. Reach out to them now and then. Have a coffee with them, chat, and be forthcoming. Don't pretend anything, just try to connect. Be yourself. 139 4.4 PR Tactics - Power-Up Your Plan of Action <?page no="140"?> 4.5 PR Campaigns - Launching Engagement, Landing Impact Dr. Juliane Kiesenbauer Director Marketing & Communications for Germany, Austria and Switzerland at Staffbase Why do startups need PR campaigns? Juliane · An organic growth strategy is simply not enough at a certain point in a startup's history. Startups need to systematically put effort into securing and retaining the attention of key stakeholders. This can be investors to initiate the next round of funding, potential customers to fill the pipeline, talent to fill vacancies, or it can be within the industry network to position the company as a thought leader and promising partner. PR campaigns are time-limited and can target a wide variety of audiences. The main goal is always to attract someone's attention. It is imperative for startups to not miss out on opportunities to stand out and differentiate themselves in a space that is often overloaded with information. Being bold in showcasing achievements, both product-related and in terms of thought leadership, is key. Furthermore, it is worth investing early, so you have a strong external communications foundation in a crisis. What's the difference between a marketing and a PR campaign? Juliane · The responsibility for marketing and PR for startups is often combined in one business unit. I support this model and would not recom‐ mend separating PR and marketing planning because their different target groups are partly consuming the same news channels. Still, both disciplines must keep their purpose in mind to avoid being distracted by other ideas and doing things just for the sake of it. Resources from both areas need to be used efficiently to achieve the company goal. 140 4 PR, Yes, But How? From Strategy, Tactics, and Monitoring <?page no="141"?> Let's say, for example, that a startup needs to recruit several hundred new hires during a strong growth quarter. An employer branding campaign is created involving marketing (e.g. ad placements), HR (e.g. job fairs), and PR (e.g. securing media coverage). It is more important that the messaging and timing of these sub-campaigns are coordinated closely with one another than to rack one's brains over whether the disciplines can be sharply distinguished. It's incredibly fun and productive when professional communicators from these different disciplines work together and are not held back by departmental silos or hierarchical boundaries. How do I find the right PR campaign for my startup? Juliane · It's important first for a startup to set a PR budget and determine whether it's best to hire an in-house PR professional or seek the assistance of a PR agency (preferably one familiar with your industry). In either case, once a PR professional joins the team, it's most important to develop key messaging points that align with your company's business goals and start to build relationships with key industry media. Get a sense of what matters to them, what they write about (are they covering your competitors? ), offer product briefings to introduce them to the company and its executives etc. Only after this can you start building campaigns that will resonate with the media. When finally selecting campaigns for a startup, you need to ask: Is the concept of this campaign closely aligned with the corporate strategy? A special characteristic of startups is that communicators expect that the company's goals may be adjusted comparatively quickly to new growth strategies and market conditions. In addition, you must be able to adapt any PR strategy quickly so that the campaigns carried out do not develop independently of current business goals and possibly head in the wrong direction. I have experienced that the planning phase for a PR campaign for a startup can take as little as one to two weeks, while one to two months of preparation is standard for the same type of campaign in a larger corporation. How can I design a campaign for my startup? Juliane · We know from many studies and reports since the 1920s that a four-phase model in PR campaign planning is still the most popular one today: analysis, conceptualisation, implementation, and evaluation. The great advantage of communicators working for startups is that planning and implementation are in proximity - usually in the hands of one person 141 4.5 PR Campaigns - Launching Engagement, Landing Impact <?page no="142"?> or a small team. On the other hand, in large communications departments, it comes with a certain risk when planning and implementation are carried out by different professionals. This can seriously affect the efficiency of campaign management. In startups, by contrast, communicators essentially take the specifics of execution into account during the planning stage because they are responsible for the entire campaign themselves. There are certainly various advantages and disadvantages of PR in startups, where small communication teams or teams of one are responsible. How do you measure PR campaign success? Juliane · Measuring the success of PR campaigns is not easy - no matter if you are working in a startup, scale-up, or enterprise company. I learned an incredible amount about this when I started to think beyond PR and experienced my first marketing campaigns some years ago. To this day, I enjoy balancing both disciplines in my day-to-day responsibilities. This trains and forces me to think ahead at all times on how to prove the value added by us as communicators. That way, we can secure our budget and staff. Still, I know from talking with colleagues that measurement is not the most popular task. But let's bite the bullet and just do it. Here's a nice example of how marketing and PR execute and evaluate their campaigns together: Your communication goal is to increase brand awareness by 30% in North America because the company decided to focus strongly on this market. We analyse the current situation by conducting a brand awareness study with an external provider who compares different players in the market. After collecting this knowledge about the landscape, marketing will possibly run targeted brand ads; the social media team will propose organic content for community building. The job of a PR expert is to think about what kind of PR campaign is needed to help achieve the growth goal, e. g. positive, unique articles in relevant industry media outlets about the company; company executives being invited to speak at high-profile events that increase thought leadership reach and results in positive press; tech awards secured at industry events; and finally, the consistent positive buzz on social media by journalists and industry influencers. Throughout the campaign, the expert closely monitors whether the PR activities result in positive media coverage and assesses if plans need to be adjusted as conditions change. So let's say we chose a media campaign and secured press coverage in three national business publications. Readers reacting to and 142 4 PR, Yes, But How? From Strategy, Tactics, and Monitoring <?page no="143"?> sharing the press coverage on social media instantly show us whether we were able to attract the attention of new interested parties and interactions. However, we will only see if our mix of marketing and PR campaigns pays off on the original goal when another brand awareness measurement is conducted. This needs to be kept in mind from the beginning. It is important to think about the campaign from the end. Do I really need campaigns to reach my communications goals? Juliane · Campaigns are obviously only a small part of what communi‐ cators in startups need to have on their radar. Communication with the company's various stakeholders is extremely complex and dynamic, so staged and time-sensitive campaigns will not suffice. However, the profes‐ sional knowledge of how campaigns are conceived will help PR experts as a toolkit to pivot when needed and adapt when other communications challenges arise. Those who take the time to study campaign management methods will equip themselves for many communications tasks to come. 4.6 PR Controlling - Measuring What Matters Dr. Clara Herdeanu Head of Communications at Xayn When discussing strategy, some may think of hundreds of pages of prose defining exactly what to do and not to do, what to say and not to say etc. Can you give a rough idea of what a good PR strategy should look like without going into detail? What questions does it have to answer? Clara · People easily get lost in the details when talking about PR strategies. But instead of chasing the chicken, you should start mending the fence. What I mean by this figure of speech is that before you do anything, 143 4.6 PR Controlling - Measuring What Matters <?page no="144"?> you should always ask yourself: what actually are my goals - in the short-, mid-, and long-term? Adapt your mindset and think from the end of your strategy to the beginning: what would success look like for you? Who do you want to address, and who is your actual target group? And then ask yourself what you have to do to be successful, reach your target group and achieve those goals that you've defined for your strategy. What should be your actions and your methods to achieve them? Once you've figured out the answers to these questions, you're pretty much set up and can try to pinpoint it down to one written page. One thing you must remember is that there are and always will be many unknowns in PR. A too detailed strategy will hinder more than help, so leave some room for flexibility and always be willing to improvise. One prerequisite to evaluating your work is to have goals in the first place. We all know that goals should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Reasonable and Time-bound). However, knowing that in theory and doing that in practice is quite another cup of tea. Any PR goal served you best in the past? Any tips on what communication goals should look like? Clara · When defining your goals, it's good to differentiate between your overall objective and the key results that demonstrate whether you've achieved your target. The objective is the abstract outcome, the meaning, that you're looking for - such as “establish a credible media footprint to support the business' success”. The key results, however, are the specific steps on your way, the output that you can precisely measure - such as “secure five placements with a positive tone-of-voice in top tier media outlets within the next three months”. The objective helps you to keep track of your goals and focus (Do you still focus on the fence as mentioned earlier instead of chasing the chicken? ), while the key results help you to evaluate whether you've achieved them or not (Did you fix the fence? ). You have lots of experience when it comes to measuring the success of PR. What are your greatest learnings? What are the most common pitfalls that communicators run into? Clara · The common challenge for PR professionals worldwide is how to demonstrate the worth and value of PR - especially in comparison to the supposedly similar discipline of marketing. But as we all know, marketing 144 4 PR, Yes, But How? From Strategy, Tactics, and Monitoring <?page no="145"?> and PR communications are two different disciplines with different scopes and challenges. This then sometimes leads to the pitfall that communicators try to measure success only by looking at numbers and, therefore, confuse numbers with meaning. But not everything that is important can be meas‐ ured in numbers - and not everything that can be measured in numbers is important. Instead, communicators should look for a sensible combination of quan‐ titative and qualitative key performance indicators (KPI) which show a realistic picture of the specific value added by PR. A press officer is asked to evaluate the communication impact of a campaign. What do you recommend? Clara · It is in the interest of PR professionals to evaluate their communication impact and to be able to demonstrate the value their work added to the business. Always try to tie your PR work back to the overall strategy and success of your organisation. For this, I recommend a combination or matrix of quantitative and qualitative KPIs. For the quantitative KPI, communicators can look for measurements such as the number of (top-tier) clippings, readership or circulation and ad value equivalency (AVE). These measurements are far from perfect, and there's been a large debate in the discipline of whether or not they should be used. However, if you always get your data from the same sources, these numbers can give you estimates and reference points as to whether you're moving in the right direction. Therefore, I advocate for using them - with caution - and as one piece in the greater mosaic that makes up the PR success evaluation. The other pieces of this mosaic consist of the qualitative KPI which put the clippings into context - such as key messaging (Do the clippings pick up on your key messaging points? ), credibility and prestige (Which topranked publications with credibility and prestige talk about you with a positive tone of voice? ), positioning and benchmarking (What is your shareof-voice? How do top tier publications position you (for example, in com‐ parison to your competitors)? ), thought leadership (Are your spokespersons recognised as experts in their field through interviews, statements, guest posts in top tier publications? ) and tangible effects (Did PR coverage cause specific positive developments for the organisation? ). 145 4.6 PR Controlling - Measuring What Matters <?page no="146"?> Once you've compiled the data and analysed it, you can then compare it against your short-, mid-, and long-term goals that you've defined earlier. This way, you can then decide whether you're heading in the right direction or whether you need to adjust your tactics to achieve your strategic goals. Your opinion on clippings? Clara · Use them but put them into context. You can send a badly-written press release with no newsworthiness for money over a wire service and receive an impressive number of clippings - that are actually worthless or potentially even dangerous to your brand. Or you can secure just one clipping in a top-tier publication that will act as a validation point for potential clients, employees, investors, partners etc. This one clipping will be of huge value to you because it has tangible effects on the overall success of your organisation. What role do usage statistics of websites or social media play? Clara · They are one piece in the greater mosaic of PR success evaluation - but they don't show the entire picture. After all, just one click from the right multiplier could be enough for your brand's success - and, therefore, would be immensely more valuable than 100k clicks from random visitors. So always put the sheer numbers into context and ask yourself what they mean. What experiences have you had with service providers or media monitoring tools? Can you recommend one tool in particular, and if so, why? Clara · Even though I've worked with a lot of different tools on the market throughout the years, I haven't yet found the one tool that fulfils all my wishes. Therefore, I've decided to follow a certain pragmatic approach for my PR success matrix. To get a certain consistency in the measurements, I decided to stick with one tool to get the raw data on clipping numbers, readership and circulation and AVE. But no matter which tools I use, there are always clippings that the tools don't find. So I make sureto check for them and to add them and their specific data manually. I then clean up the data, compile it into a spreadsheet and analyse it in combination with the aforementioned qualitative KPI. And in case you need some nice graphs for slideshows, you can still do some Excel magic. In other words: perfect is the enemy of good. So don't wait for the perfect tool but start measuring and evaluating your work's success today. Until 146 4 PR, Yes, But How? From Strategy, Tactics, and Monitoring <?page no="147"?> somebody develops the one and only PR monitoring and measuring tool, it is more important to stick to one major tool so that you have consistent measurements you can compare over time. And make sure to double-check via additional alerts, etc., if you've received all the data. What should PR people do with their evaluations? Clara · Do PR for PR. Use your specific expertise also to showcase your successes within your organisation. Get the data, analyse it, put it into context, tie it back to the overall strategy and success of your organisation, and then communicate it internally and with your specific stakeholders. Credibly demonstrate which tangible effect PR had on the success of the organisation. Remember the one key PR principle: the bait must attract the fish, not the fisherman. The more you're able to demonstrate the value of your success, the more freedom and flexibility you'll get to do what you actually love. 4.7 Understanding Copyright and Media Law Dr. Lucas Brost Media Lawyer at Brost Claßen If the media gets it wrong, there are several countermeasures a company (or individual) can take. Media law states, for example, the right to reply, cease and desist or revocation. Can you explain these legal terms to a layperson? Lucas · The most important claim is the claim to a cease and desist order. This prevents false statements from being published again. In addition, 147 4.7 Understanding Copyright and Media Law <?page no="148"?> online postings must be corrected accordingly. The right to reply has lost importance in the age of digital media. It simply takes too long to enforce such a right. The same applies to revocation, which takes even longer to enforce. The freedom of the press does not immunise them from liability for what they publish. What other rights and possibilities do companies have when journalists report incorrectly? Lucas · In the event of particularly serious violations, monetary compen‐ sation may be demanded. However, the German courts are much more cautious about the amount than, for example, the U.S. courts. In one case, the intimate area of one of our clients was shown in the largest German daily newspaper. The Cologne Higher Regional Court awarded him € 20,000 as compensation. In the U.S., compensation would have been significantly higher. Imagine a company or individual has become a victim of defamatory statements. What is your advice on the next steps? Lucas · In the cross-media age, it is particularly important to react quickly before defamatory statements spread to third parties, websites etc. When such statements about a company are published, smooth coordi‐ nation with the communications department is important. At startups, the paths are usually shorter than with large companies. This is an advantage, especially at the beginning of a potential crisis. What if a journalist publishes a one-sided, distorted story that only tells part of the truth? Lucas · If only parts of the truth are reported, and the omitted information is important for the overall understanding, this is unlawful. Incomplete reporting can be challenged with the claims already mentioned. Libel concerns false statements which harm a person's or company's reputation. What if the statements are not based on facts but marked as a personal opinion? Lucas · Freedom of expression enjoys strong protection. Therefore, for example, comments that reflect a mere opinion cannot be banned. However, as soon as an opinion is based on evidence, this evidence must also be correct. So, for example, if an author criticises the lack of availability of customer service, this must also have been demonstrably unavailable. 148 4 PR, Yes, But How? From Strategy, Tactics, and Monitoring <?page no="149"?> What if the facts are accurate, but the angle, tone or way the story was written is not in favour of the company? Lucas · Freedom of the press also permits aggressive statements if they are based on accurate facts. Imagine a journalist detects some form of malpractice and accuses a startup of oppressing or exploiting its employees. Former staff confirm the allegations. Anything the company can do to prevent coverage? Lucas · Yes. We had to deal with such a case recently. As soon as a journalist confronts a company with his or her research, this request must be taken very seriously. The facts must be clarified internally within a very short time without upsetting the employees. The next step is to coordinate a response to the journalist with the media lawyers. External communication must be accompanied by internal communication. In our case, we were able to clarify the allegations and convince the newspaper that reporting was not appropriate. Some companies still avoid legal support and trust only the communica‐ tions department. Especially in crises, it is important to dovetail communi‐ cations and legal matters. After all, journalists are bound by legal standards. They should therefore be reminded of these standards before reporting. After a report has been published, you can only limit the damage. Imagine a company that has to lay off staff or has not held a promise and does not want to comment on certain accusations in public. Is that a wise choice, or is it better to be proactive? Lucas · In such situations, a long-term communicative strategy must be developed. If legally relevant processes are involved, it is imperative that a media lawyer also be consulted so that the communication does not take steps that cannot be reversed. In some cases, a proactive approach is even indicated, such as when the company needs to tell its own story. You are a German lawyer. Do other countries in the European Union have comparable media laws? Lucas · In comparison, German media law tends to be more friendly to those affected. In Germany, naming a person in ongoing criminal proceed‐ ings is only permitted as an exception. In addition, the media must consider many requirements when reporting on criminal proceedings. 149 4.7 Understanding Copyright and Media Law <?page no="150"?> Which question (and answer) on media law should not be missing here? Lucas · A communications crisis announces itself. German media law requires the press to confront the company with the allegations before reporting so that it can formulate a response. Unfortunately, in our experience, such inquiries are still underestimated. And yet they offer an opportunity to avert the crisis. In the cross-media age, once the crisis starts, you have to react quickly. In most cases, it takes only a few hours to decide how the company will survive the crisis. Startups, in particular, are sometimes still very clue‐ less. That's why they should prepare their communications department for a crisis. e.g. by drawing up appropriate guidelines. 150 4 PR, Yes, But How? From Strategy, Tactics, and Monitoring <?page no="151"?> 5 The Peculiarities and Intricacies of Startup Communication Media relations are an important part of external communication - but external communication encompasses much more. What is needed are generalists who can communicate professionally to the outside world - and often internally as well - and who can quickly acquire expert knowledge. Those responsible for communication in startups work in many fields, including product, lifestyle, CEO and investor communication. In addition, there are special occasions like new financing rounds or an IPO. Chapter 5 highlights some, though not all, of these aspects. We start with David Zahn, former Head of Global Product Communication at Klarna, and Christian Hillemeyer, Head of Communications at Babbel. Both provide insights into product communication (chapter 5.1). Product communication is particularly successful when it manages to turn journalists and other influencers into fans. How do you present a product, especially if it is not a physical product? Where do you start? What makes product campaigns successful? Following this, Chiara Baroni from Revolut deals with the topic of consumer PR (chapter 5.2). Here, everything revolves around inspiring, emotional or personal stories that are so good that they will be retold, as well as appealing images and experiences that arouse curiosity, awaken interest and ideally lead to brand-loyal customers. Along with potential customers, investors are also an important target audience for any startup. But how do you reach them? What role do conferences or the media play? And which role do social media channels play? Elisheva Marcus and Andre Retterath, both from Earlybird, and Sam Evans, partner at Eos Venture, answer these and similar questions in chapter 5.3. Investor communication is also tied to the topic of funding announce‐ ments. For startups, these financing rounds are probably the most important communication milestones - at least in the first few years - because they signal that the business model works and that they have convinced investors to put their money on the line. Anniina Sulku, Communications Lead at <?page no="152"?> Aiven, has communicated many financing rounds throughout her career. In chapter 5.4, she advocates careful planning and messaging. Communicating a funding round is certainly one of the highlights of a communicator's everyday life in startups. Another highlight is launching a new market or major product. A successful launch is a machine with many moving parts, and external communication is just one of them. Many teams have to work together, and it requires focus, clear ownership and good alignment to pull it off. Sara Morić, Communications Lead at LimeWire, sheds light on how to prepare a launch strategy and how to develop communication channels for your target audience in chapter 5.5. Next on the list is IPO communication. Once a startup is highly successful, there are three exit scenarios: being bought by a larger company, merging with another company or going public. All these exits come with certain challenges, also from a communications perspective. However, given the regulatory aspect, going public stands out. This is why Hemmo Bosscher, Head of Communications at Adyen, and Bettina Fries, experienced consul‐ tant, dedicate their chapter to this scenario. In chapter 5.6, they describe how to prepare communication in the context of an IPO and what changes before and after. Product PR and lifestyle PR are often aimed at end consumers. But, of course, not all startups are active in the end-consumer business. Many also operate in the corporate sector. External communication for corporate clients is not fundamentally different, but it does have some special features, which Ben Kilbey, chief communication officer at Britishvolt, deals with in chapter 5.7. One important task of external communication is to position the company well in the market. This is often done through the CEO, who represents the company to the outside world and embodies continuity. Oliver Aust has made CEO communication his career. In chapter 5.8, he explains why CEO communication is becoming more relevant in corporate communication and why an isolated lecture at a conference or a guest article alone is by no means enough. Staying with CEO communication, a popular means of building reputa‐ tion is through thought leadership. Thought leadership positions a person or a company as a pioneer and expert in their field. Florestan Peters from SoSafe has already told many successful thought leadership stories. One of his tips is: If you have something to say, say it - if not, stay silent. Thought leadership is a long-term play and not the right method for everyone or 152 5 The Peculiarities and Intricacies of Startup Communication <?page no="153"?> every company (chapter 5.9). However, if pursued passionately, it will help you stand out from the crowd, making you visible and credible. 5.1 Achieving Promotional Targets with Product Communication David Zahn Head of Communications at Gigs | ex-Klarna Christian Hillemeyer Director of Communications at Babbel Note: David wrote this article while working for Klarna. What exactly does product PR involve? And how does product PR differ from business PR? David · Product communications is an integral part of corporate communications. It is not different from business PR; rather, they complement each other very well. The goal of product communications is to bring various stakeholders closer to new and existing products of the respective company and explain the business model behind them. In the FinTech sector, the mix is especially complex, so the need for translation, explanation, and contextualisation is very high. Christian · I see it the same way. Product PR and business PR cannot always be separated. The former can certainly be part of the latter. Product PR is about bringing a product with all its features to the appropriate target 153 5.1 Achieving Promotional Targets with Product Communication <?page no="154"?> groups. These can be consumers, as in the case of Babbel, or companies, if the product is a B2B product. First and foremost, the goal is to make a product known, strengthen certain desired attributes, and ultimately sell it. But a well-communicated product launch can, of course, also contribute to the reputation of the respective company. This would then be the interface between product and business or corporate PR. Product PR is one of the core elements of sales-oriented PR. Where is the border to marketing? And what does that look like for you in concrete terms? How do you work together? Christian · In the past, I would have said that the boundary is exactly where the flow of money begins. That would be marketing. But, of course, there are other, more important differences. While marketing is more about strikingly promoting the product, the impact of product PR often goes deeper. In principle, PR is often more credible than an advertisement and can tell stories that precisely position and strengthen a brand or product's attributes. Journalists, for example, can act as test subjects and neutrally reflect the company's voice. User's interesting case studies can be placed with an affinity to the target group and awaken emotional ties and desires. In the startup sector, product PR is also a cheaper alternative to marketing. Here, employees and an agency are paid for as many placements as desired. Grey areas between the fields often arise, especially with social media, influencer marketing, content marketing etc. However, whether these functions are assigned to marketing or PR in an organisation is not essential. What is important is the general coordination of teams in terms of core messages and timing. At Babbel, we have successfully worked with our marketing colleagues on joint campaigns for a long time. David · I would perhaps add to that: especially when launching a new product, it is essential to work very closely with many teams, whether from the marketing and product departments or other areas. The goal must be to develop a mutual understanding of the respective activities and goals to be able to communicate from a single source, i.e. uniformly with consistent messages across all touchpoints. The great art is to orchestrate and align all work strands accordingly so you can create a high-profile momentum. PR plays an essential role in this, as it usually marks the start of a campaign and sets the public narrative before performance marketing, social media, and out-of-home campaigns acquire customers. 154 5 The Peculiarities and Intricacies of Startup Communication <?page no="155"?> While marketing is primarily concerned with new customer business and active user engagement with a brand, product communication is about ed‐ ucation and contextualisation so that marketing can build on a functioning narrative. Good product communication is the basis for selling the product. Product PR is successful when it turns journalists and other multi‐ pliers into real fans. Consumer goods manufacturers send product samples, tour operators invite journalists on exclusive trips, and car manufacturers offer test drives. With a service, this is more difficult. How do you present your product? What do you recommend? David · You might think that companies that offer physical products have an easier time marketing their services. However, I believe that digital products are in no way inferior to that, provided they offer good product experiences. I mean: How does the app or website communicate with you? How understandable and user-friendly is it to use? How do I regularly surprise the user and nudge them to use the product again? Of course, these are questions that product and marketing teams answer first and foremost, but they can be significantly influenced by product communication. Christian · I still remember the stories of colleagues from the games industry who flew media professionals to Jamaica for a week to launch new games. But those days are actually over. The mechanisms for tying the press to products cannot be generalised. There are too many products for that. The spectrum ranges from an entertaining digital product to consumer electronics that can be sent by mail to complex enterprise solutions. In the latter case, it's often a small group of key contacts you should certainly invite to dinner more often. In general, I can recommend emphasising the respective product's pitch to important journalists and always paying attention to the relevance for the respective medium. If you do a good job, long-term relationships often arise automatically. You should also not be stingy with your product, as far as that is possible. At Babbel, we are very generous with app access or live language learning courses. The yield is often meagre in the short term, but it pays off in the long term. I would generally advise against large-scale events unless you are a very well-known brand. Only in this case do the effort and the return match. 155 5.1 Achieving Promotional Targets with Product Communication <?page no="156"?> What does a good product communication strategy look like? What questions does it have to answer? David · Am I consistent with my messages everywhere consumers come into contact with them? Does my value proposition match the current status of the product? Is the product vision credible and understandable? A good product communication strategy must be one thing above all: adaptable. The dependency on the product team is enormous, and since there are permanent shifts in the product roadmap, an annual plan is usually obsolete by the end of the first quarter. Instead, product communication should pay special attention to communication assets that make complex content easier to digest and ideally trigger the recipient's enthusiasm. Therefore, good product images, explanatory microsites, interesting product videos, visually appealing info sheets, and infographics absolutely belong in the product communication toolbox. Christian · The strategy must first always be closely coordinated with product development and product marketing. As I mentioned, this coordination creates the action framework for any campaign activity. In terms of questions or key points, any communication strategy should start with the actual benefit of the product. Descriptions and pictures are nice, but they are of secondary interest. Additionally, every product has a communicative life cycle, from launch to maturation to saturation and finally to fade out. Each of these must be considered and executed separately in terms of communication. Twenty or thirty years ago, certain target groups consumed similar media - at least in part. Today, the media landscape has become incredibly diverse; there are blogs and podcasts for every niche topic, and influencers sometimes have a greater influence than prime-time TV commercials. How does that affect product communication? David · It offers more opportunities, first and foremost. Gabriel Weinberg wrote a wonderful book called “Traction”, describing the “19 Channels of Growth.” Digitisation allows us to target special interest groups, learn from them, and create hype cycles. With good products and clever market launch 156 5 The Peculiarities and Intricacies of Startup Communication <?page no="157"?> strategies, it is now possible to achieve reach for which, in the analogue age, two things were needed above all: an exclusive network and money. Today, the media market is much more democratised and easier to access than in the analogue age. Christian · That also depends a lot on the product. If you have a niche product, you must illuminate and supply the niches. In general, though, I don't like to be influenced by today's fragmentation of channels. It's still the case that the big media build strong and effective reach. At Babbel, we still see the most immediate effects on our PR on prime-time TV. The big names remain the first port of call. But depending on the target group and, especially on age, you should segment the relevant media. And again, if you're a poor startup, beginning in the smaller communities and blogs often makes sense and brings faster success. Bit by bit, you can then work your way up to the big players from the bottom up. Klarna has managed to build a strong brand out of a boring product. What were the key success factors? David · There are several factors, starting with our operating model, which we introduced in 2017 and focuses very much on autonomy and initiative, to the change in corporate identity from blue to pink, and to the guiding principles by which every single team at Klarna works. Crucial to the change in Klarna's perception is our transformation from a regional payment provider to a global shopping system and the associated change in strategy away from a pure B2B business model to B2B2C. Of course, big campaigns with Snoop Dogg, Lady Gaga, Super Bowl ads, and the product transformation towards a shopping app help. However, Klarna's success cannot be attributed to just one department because, in the end, it is always the entire organisation's success. What was it like at Babbel? Christian · Certainly strong TV marketing and big performance and content marketing budgets. All of these areas are very useful for getting a brand known quickly and efficiently. Of course, we continuously accompa‐ nied this process with PR, which gave us credibility and character. What role does product photography play? What tips can you give to other communications people? Christian · Obviously, how the product is “staged” always plays a role. I see this primarily as the responsibility of product marketing. From a press 157 5.1 Achieving Promotional Targets with Product Communication <?page no="158"?> perspective, however, additional materials can be provided accordingly to maximise exposure in the media. This can be the product in the hands of specific target groups or, depending on the market and localisation needs, in specific locations. And yes, good pictures make a difference. Please always hire professional photographers. If you were new to a startup and had to set up product communica‐ tion from the beginning, what would your 100-day plan look like? David · First and foremost, it is important to set up the basics, i.e. a content plan and contact list, in a structured and pragmatic way. Especially as an early-stage startup, a big challenge is continuously generating stories. On the one hand, this works well via data stories and agenda surfing. On the other hand, however, it is extremely important for communications experts to exchange information intensively and continuously with those responsible for the product, to keep an eye on the news, and to know the competition inside out in order to be able to give journalists a good idea of the developments of their own company. Only those who get up close and personal and put product developments and news values on top of each other or next to each other can regularly create good stories and real campaigns. Simply waiting for someone to come up to you and say, “We could make a story out of that”, doesn't lead to any results in most cases. Christian · That's very difficult to say and depends on what you find, whether the company is international, how large the target groups are etc. In a B2B startup, the first thing is undoubtedly to sharply define the target groups, to learn which media they receive, and at which events and trade fairs they meet. And you have to know the benefits that the product offers. If you know all that, all you have to do is “deliver.” Building a consumer product is often more complex. Here, you have to deal with entire clusters of target groups with all their lifestyles and build up broad brand awareness. So a lot of experimentation with stories and spins is needed. Initial research should bring target media and key contacts to light. For example, which journalist(s) have written about the product, market, or competition in the past? Relevant pitches must be perfected until the desired results are achieved. The key figures used to present the latter should also be defined. You need a good team, processes, and product development and marketing interfaces. Then you can get started. 158 5 The Peculiarities and Intricacies of Startup Communication <?page no="159"?> Which key figures do you use to measure the success of product communication? David · Brand awareness and consumer understanding are the most important indicators of product communication. The decisive factor is how strongly the product messaging is embedded at all consumer touchpoints and in the respective marketing campaigns. But the same applies to PR: quality trumps quantity. The decisive factor is to launch exciting product stories with public impact in media relevant to the respective context. Sentiment analyses are better suited here than pure coverage because they allow conclusions to be drawn about how new products or news are perceived in the media and the market and what you can improve next time to place your messages even better. Christian · That's a very good question because PR doesn't usually measure sales figures, unlike marketing or sales. At Babbel, we focus on the targeted management of brand or product attributes through our PR work. We survey cohorts of users who have only come into contact with PR campaigns and compare them with marketing cohorts. This allows us to precisely see how we need to adjust our storytelling to achieve the desired effects. But be careful: this takes time. When you look at product communications from different compa‐ nies, do you see weaknesses anywhere? What do companies often do wrong? Conversely, is there a particularly positive example that you look to for guidance? Christian · What bothers me most is product communication that lacks credibility. Basically, I am convinced that PR creators should leave the church in the village and always communicate truthfully. If, for example, weak points appear, they should not be hidden in a makeshift manner. That becomes embarrassing. On the other hand, such night-and-fog deletions or reinterpretations have given us many happy moments on Twitter. But all joking aside, always communicate truthfully, halfway realistically, and humanely. Know your weak points and be prepared to acknowledge them when the going gets tough. This creates lasting relationships, especially when dealing with journalists. 159 5.1 Achieving Promotional Targets with Product Communication <?page no="160"?> David · In my opinion, many companies that have a broad product portfolio have not yet understood how important it is to establish communications experts in the respective project teams in order to both be close to product developments and influence the value chain. Involving communications at an early stage is essential to identify opportunities and risks and, above all, create consistent messages. Thanks to their interdisciplinary, holacratic, participative structure, technology companies like Spotify are generally ahead of companies operating in classic organisational pyramids. David, which companies are particularly good at product communi‐ cation in your view? David · The benchmark here is (surprise! ) Apple, but there are also excellent other companies that may not come from the digital economy, from which you can learn a lot. Hornbach, Vorwerk, and Sonos all work out their unique selling points very well in their respective communication elements and manage to successfully emotionalise at the same time. Christian, what was a particularly successful product communica‐ tion campaign and why? Christian · With regard to Babbel, there were several, and none was really easy. The consumer sector always brings a certain complexity. One example is the 2015 Babbel launch in the US. At that point, we were already the market leader in Europe and had set ourselves up for a run. The knowledge was there, and the money was there. And then everything turned out differently. We hardly got a foot on the ground in the early days because we completely underestimated how different North American consumers were. They were indifferent to language learning as we communicated it. And they were not interested in Europe either. After a few painful experiences, we turned the corner and made America our strongest market. Our self-confidence was ultimately an obstacle. We were able to crack the market only by completely turning back on our ignorance and opening up about the Americanisation of our thinking. For this reason, I recommend openness and humility as the foundation of any campaign. What is the most important tool you wouldn't do without under any circumstances? Christian · A great team. That is irreplaceable - otherwise, good partners, such as local communications agencies. In the end, they often tip the scales. 160 5 The Peculiarities and Intricacies of Startup Communication <?page no="161"?> David · Absolutely. But to answer the question about tools: I'm a big fan of Notion. The tool has everything you need to orchestrate your communication in a goal-oriented way. 5.2 Encourage and Engage Through Meaningful Consumer PR Chiara Baroni PR and Communications Manager for Germany, Austria and Switzerland at Revolut Giulia Ricci Global Consumer and Product PR Lead at N26 What comes to your mind when you compare corporate PR to consumer PR? Giulia · Both functions contribute to the organisation's external com‐ munication efforts by strategically increasing and driving the company's reputation and brand awareness and building and nurturing relationships with the brand's target audiences. The first main difference: Corporate PR speaks to media and opinion leaders with expertise and interest in business and corporate topics. On the other hand, consumer PR targets media and opinion leaders that cover more consumer-centric themes and stories. Consequently, both functions differ in topics and tactics. Chiara, you consider yourself more of a “PR all-rounder” and have dealt with all kinds of topics over the years, both in the corporate and 161 5.2 Encourage and Engage Through Meaningful Consumer PR <?page no="162"?> consumer sectors. Today it's all about end customers. What exactly does lifestyle and consumer PR mean to you? Chiara · Lifestyle and consumer PR means communications work that is aimed directly at end consumers: it fits into the customers' lifestyle and takes place in the media and channels that address their interests and needs. Consumer PR is usually more about emotions and stories than about hard facts. Would you agree? Giulia · I would argue that for consumer-facing media, facts and credi‐ bility are very important and just as relevant as for corporate or trade media. Take data-driven PR, for example, which works very well within consumer PR. However, the type of facts and how they are communicated within consumer RP definitely involves a good amount of storytelling, emotions and strong connections to (sub) cultural trends. For instance, to a corporate media outlet, the information that the number of purchases on a major shopping platform doubled during Black Friday holds PR relevance. For consumer PR, the announcement of the three most trending products according to purchase statistics and the information of where to purchase them on sale during the Black Friday ahead hold PR relevance. Where is the boundary with marketing? Chiara · You could say at the budget … However, from my point of view, consumer PR and marketing measures should go hand in hand, especially now that influencers have become so important. If I'm organising a press event, I prefer venues and a photographer with social media reach so that the communication in one shot is also extended to other channels. Media collaborations and influencer marketing run under the marketing budget in almost every company, but the bottom line is that it's always about communicating a brand or product: the message is one and should be played consistently on all channels so that it reaches the relevant target group in different formats via the appropriate media. Silo thinking is not a friend of good communication. 162 5 The Peculiarities and Intricacies of Startup Communication <?page no="163"?> You were previously at Amorelie, a mail-order company for erotic toys. It's certainly easier to get into the media with dildos and surveys on sex preferences than with a banking app, isn't it? Chiara · You can't make that general statement - at least not in consumer PR. In both cases, we're dealing with topics - namely sex and money - that have long had negative connotations and were considered taboo. From my point of view, companies like Amorelie and Revolut - with very different products - are pursuing a similar vision: to encourage people to take important aspects of their lives into their own hands, be it their sexuality or their finances. The challenges in communications are also similar: The primary aim is to de-taboo certain topics and make them acceptable to editors. Good consumer PR stages a brand in the media without being too promotional. How do you do that? Chiara · Consumer PR is about inspiration and emotion, not impulse buying. For me, that's the biggest difference from advertising. In the world of lifestyle communication, everything revolves around stories that are so good that they are retold. And at the same time, it's about personal experiences and appealing images - elements that arouse curiosity, interest, and desire and often result in lasting brand loyalty. Consumer PR is hard work: Just because lifestyle journalists write about beautiful things or leisure topics doesn't mean that they and their audience aren't extremely demanding. I always try to put myself in the reader's shoes: Where, what, and from what perspective would I want to read about a particular topic? What can I do with the information and experience? You should ask yourself these questions with every single pitch so that you don't become operationally blind and suggest inappropriate or unexciting topics. Take press events as an example. An expensive venue and a good set design are not enough for media coverage. Would I want to read about the fact that ten journalists met for a sponsored dinner? Where is the added value for me as a reader? It is the PR manager's task to create unique communicative occasions. For example, the event can take place at an unusual location, which is only open on the day and presented in the article; VIPs can be 163 5.2 Encourage and Engage Through Meaningful Consumer PR <?page no="164"?> invited so women's magazines can report on the haircuts and clothing and the tabloid press on celebrities; a certain product is exclusively presented and tested for the readers … Another example is product launches. Instead of a simple press release, I offer journalists the new product for testing, give a few tips, and tell a personal story. As a reader of a women's magazine, I'm only interested in the launch of a new function for a financial app to a certain extent. The same goes for a map in a new guise. But when I read that the new feature can help increase my financial well-being and the seven best tips for successful salary negotiations are presented, it does get interesting. Or when the article on the new card design explains how a means of payment can become an eye-catcher and what I need to know about colour combinations. Finally, as a consumer PR professional, it's very important to identify with the topics and brands you communicate with because it's also about getting editors excited about a lifestyle - and about the brands that match it. If someone asked you how to start consumer PR from scratch - what would you advise? Giulia · 1. Define your goals. This will help you guide your efforts and monitor and evaluate the results. Common goals may be reaching a certain number of articles in tier-one media, the sentiment of the publications, media engagement, nurturing the relationships with key journalists etc. Try to make them as tangible and measurable as possible. In the long run, your PR goals should contribute to the overall business KPIs. 2. Define your target audiences. While you are ultimately targeting current and potential customers, your primary target audience in most scenarios will be journalists and opinion leaders who then address consumers. Based on your company's defined customer personae you can determine how and what type of media they consume. This is where you need your PR content to go live. 3. Develop a consumer PR playbook. This “one source of truth” holds all the relevant information about how consumer PR is done in your company. This includes key messages, narratives, tone of voice and potential tactics you employ. All of this should be based on your company's business, communication and reputation strategies. Furthermore, the playbook should hold information about your target audiences, target media lists, defined goals and how to measure success. This will increase 164 5 The Peculiarities and Intricacies of Startup Communication <?page no="165"?> the accuracy and consistency of your communication efforts, especially as more team members join. 4. Draft a PR plan for the next six to twelve months. After the strategic part, it is time to get creative and conceptualise storylines and explore tactics. First, map out important key moments of your brand, such as product launches and larger brand campaigns. Then invest some time to understand exactly how your target media ticks: What are the stories that they write about? What seasonal events are relevant to them? What is newsworthy to them? Browse through their editorial calendars. Consider all of those internal and external factors when conducting press stories and exploring channels and tactics. Your pitches need to have a strong storyline, be newsworthy, provide added value to the audience and not be commercial in nature. 5. Pitch and network. Editors and opinion leaders are targeted with hun‐ dreds of company stories and news daily. To cut through the noise, only address them with content tailored to their needs and their audience's interests (ergo your brand's target audiences) and ensure your pitch materials are concise and on point. Consider personal contact over sending out a generic press release - especially when approaching your tier-one outlets. This is much easier once you have established a strong relationship with journalists and opinion leaders. You mentioned different tactics. Which ones are suitable for con‐ sumer PR? Giulia · This depends on the brand, product(s) and PR goals. The classical tool is the press release. Depending on the content, objectives and targeted audience the type of press release could be e.g. a short, facts-driven announcement, a data story, Q&As with an expert, etc. Another interesting tactic is stunts which target not only the media, but also consumers, to get the attention of the general public. In order to be successful, a stunt needs to be creative, newsworthy and connected to what strongly matters to your target audience. At the same time, it needs to be on brand and support your communication objectives. I also see tactics aiming to build and strengthen your network with journalists and opinion leaders, such as (digital) desk visits, as effective within consumer PR. Invest some time to get to know your contacts, and find out if they know and understand your brand and products. Even if this might not result in coverage directly, it will help you a lot in achieving your goals in the long run. 165 5.2 Encourage and Engage Through Meaningful Consumer PR <?page no="166"?> What are important channels for consumer PR? Chiara · Women's, men's, and lifestyle magazines, daily and weekly newspapers' lifestyle editors, and titles aimed at a special group of consum‐ ers with a common interest. Also, Instagram, provided the visuals are right. Podcasts, TV formats, and radio are great. And, of course, the stylists who work with the editorial teams or directly in the publishing house and are always on the lookout for great products for editorial photoshoots. Complex products often require explanation. How do you solve this in consumer PR? Giulia · Generally, consumer PR is not the right channel to explain or advertise a product. However, it can increase brand and product awareness by weaving corporate or product information into a consumer-centric story. For example, we recently wanted to give our savings features in the N26 app a push via consumer PR. For this, we collaborated with our analytics team and analysed the anonymised saving and spending behaviour of N26 customers in our core regions. Hereby, we leveraged the fact that consumer media is interested in data showcasing consumer behaviour and trends. Additionally, we teamed up with a renowned psychology and neuroeconomics professor and asked her to interpret and explain the results based on neuroscientific insights. Her expertise and the fact that the media could quote a person increased the PR relevance of the pitch. Among other insights, the professor explained why and how automatic savings tools and features ease the pressure in our brain's control region and therefore help us save. This way, we weaved our product offering and key messaging into a non-commercial and consumer-centric PR pitch. Can you provide an example of good consumer PR? Do you have a role model? Chiara · Yes, all brands that hijack news quickly enough and make strong PR coups out of it. And that's not easy in big companies, where everything has to be doubleand triple-checked and approved. I admire that a lot! For me, Norwegian Airlines remains undefeated with “Brad is single - Los Angeles one way for £169,” immediately after Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie split. How do you measure whether you have been successfully commu‐ nicating? Giulia · One indication is whether quantitative goals are met, such as the number of articles in tier-one media, number of quotes of positioned 166 5 The Peculiarities and Intricacies of Startup Communication <?page no="167"?> spokespeople and key messages published. Just as important are hitting qualitative goals such as overall sentiment and the extent and way the media engaged with a given press topic. Ultimately, determining whether a pitch was successful depends on formerly defined goals. Three positive, in-depth articles can be just as valuable as 50 short and neutral brand mentions. What role do influencers or brand ambassadors play? Chiara · In my opinion, influencers, as well as testimonials and opinion leaders, are particularly important. Not only as a “side measure” for more reach or credibility, but also as content for pure consumer PR work (and, of course, for the marketing trade press). I'm thinking of photoshoots and images for journalists, but also of interviews or content that can be used for editorial purposes, such as tips from a professional athlete, recommendations from a financial advisor, research results from a professor, or recipes from a star chef. Very important: these personalities must be relevant in the individual markets. Giulia · I agree. You can work with influencers, brand ambassadors or experts - the main criterion is that they have strong and authentic expertise in their respective field and a natural link to the brand and PR topic. Positioning an internal expert also works well as, naturally, the connection to the brand is stronger. What impact do owned media channels including Twitter, LinkedIn, Insta, TikTok have on consumer PR? Giulia · Since consumer PR stories have a strong storytelling hook, I sug‐ gest always exploring if and how a subject can be leveraged into your owned channel communications, including social media, newsletters, blogs etc. This way, content and assets are used across multiple channels, increasing the brand's reach and creating consistency in the brand's communication. Revolut also keeps making it into lifestyle magazines like Couch and others. What is your recipe for success? Chiara · My recipe might be that I don't pretend. I'm not a financial or investment expert myself, but a woman who wanted to get to grips with these issues. Even as a child, I regularly heard my mother say, “Make sure you always remain financially independent.” This helps me identify with the target group and convey Revolut's content to readers in understandable, inclusive language. 167 5.2 Encourage and Engage Through Meaningful Consumer PR <?page no="168"?> Giulia, any other tips you might have? Giulia · Yes, here are two things that I've learned in my time working in consumer PR. First: Pitch topics over a longer period. We often tend to develop a PR story, pitch it and move on to drafting the next one. However, consumer PR topics often don't have an expiration date, meaning that you can pitch them whenever it fits a media outlet's editorial calendar and current focus. This requires close contact with your target media and an understanding of their editorial calendar. Ultimately, it enables you to spend more time developing a select number of high-quality and well thought-through pitches that can be offered to media over a longer period of time. And second: consider exploring paid media. Booking native advertising, such as branded content, can be a great way to expose consumer media audiences to your product offering and even educate them in an authentic and interesting way. Together with the expertise of media outlets, you can develop creative and fun content that doesn't feel like advertising in the traditional sense. Media outlets, on the other hand, benefit as a major source of their revenue is generated directly through paid placements. With more and more outlets having to close down or downsize, I personally think it is important to consider supporting them and contributing to securing their future. After all, they are a crucial element to the success of our work in consumer PR. 5.3 How and Why Investor Communication Is Critical to Your Success Dr. Andre Retterath Partner at Earlybird Venture Capital - Investor Commu‐ nications 168 5 The Peculiarities and Intricacies of Startup Communication <?page no="169"?> Elisheva Marcus VP Communications at Earlybird Venture Capital Sam Evans Partner at Eos Venture Partners Andre, how would you define your job as an investor in a few words? Andre · Rollercoaster, inspiring, humbling. Earlybird invests from a family of funds supporting European tech companies at all stages. You've been leading marketing/ PR and communications for two years now. What are your most important objectives in this role? Elisheva · I'll summarise my objectives as follows: 1. Support Earlybird's portfolio companies: shaping impactful stories when they enter the portfolio, followed by seeking positive coverage when they reach new milestones. 2. Build Earlybird's brand and reputation: creating multiple access points to my colleagues and teams. 3. Share useful information with our ecosystem: extract team insights and offer new opportunities. To do so, I draft and edit team and portfolio stories, shape our social media and external communications, align internal content, conduct interviews, build trustful relationships with journalists, and keep a close eye on our channels for what resonates. I look for more opportunities to learn, collabo‐ 169 5.3 How and Why Investor Communication Is Critical to Your Success <?page no="170"?> rate, and amplify content that helps push the ecosystem, benefiting founders and investors alike. In public limited companies and other capital-based companies, investor relations, i.e. financial communication, is an independent area of corporate communication. In startups, on the other hand, it is usually the founders who talk to the investors, often supported by a CFO. So what does investor communication mean in the startup environment anyway? Sam · For an early-stage company, investor communication provides the lifeblood of the company, namely access to capital. It is an essential part of a successful business, with founders having to attract investment to support the growth of the business. Investor communication has two key elements: First, the ability to successfully showcase the business to new investors, to present a compelling vision and business case whilst creating confidence in the ability of the team to execute the plan. Second, to keep existing investors up to date and engaged in the business so that they will proactively support management and participate in future funding rounds. What are the key ingredients to good communication and investor relations? Andre · Honesty, consistency and reliability. Potential investors are an important target group for startups. Imag‐ ine for a second that you were a founder: how do you reach this target group? Sam · Networking is a key part of reaching and engaging with potential investors. A warm introduction, as opposed to a cold reach out, can be important in standing out in a crowded market. As a company scales, specialist investment banks play a valuable role in connecting companies with potential investors and facilitating a structured process. Elisheva · It's always a blended audience: entrepreneurs, founders, and startups. If we are doing all this right, we also attract great employees, potential investors, politicians, and the public. We reach them by crafting content that highlights or reflects them and their interests, proper tagging 170 5 The Peculiarities and Intricacies of Startup Communication <?page no="171"?> of the right people and topics, and a smart distribution plan. Reaching out to the right people to collaborate with also means building and leveraging the network. There are countless conferences for startups and investors. Some events are huge; some demand money from startups. What do you recommend? Sam · Conferences can play a valuable role, particularly at leading trade or startup conferences which attract several thousand people and enable a business to engage with multiple stakeholders from across the industry in an efficient way. Prior to the pandemic, the industry may have been approaching conference fatigue, but as we enter 2022, there will no doubt be a lot of pent-up demand for face-to-face engagement and meetings. It is important to build a structured programme and dedicate the time to planning meetings to ensure you are meeting with the right people from the right organisations. Elisheva · That's a tough one. Slush is worth attending if possible. Earlybird was fortunate to meet a now-portfolio company Aiven there, which then became Europe's 51st unicorn! I'd suggest building your network and content up so you can hopefully ask to be invited as a speaker or early enough for a reduced rate. WebSummit sounds memorable, and TechEU is increasingly organising great events. I also heard good things from some investors about START Summit. Wherever you go, it is advisable first to consider your goals carefully. Do you want to meet more journalists, VCs, and angel investors or recruit future staff ? These pointers should inform your decision. I also recently heard a founder say she was advised by a PR pro to be on a stage, nearly any stage, three times per month. So keep that in mind for the early days when you want to spread and build name recognition and get comfortable refining and owning your pitch. I also recommend local meetups: for example, Silicon Allee hosts super networking sessions and Factory Berlin offers many community-building events. I'd also be remiss if I did not mention organisations like Female Founders/ Grow F and Founderland, as well FemGems. All of these organi‐ sations offer a different assortment of mentoring, office hours, host events etc. Keep open to meeting others and be willing and excited to help others: this can take you far! 171 5.3 How and Why Investor Communication Is Critical to Your Success <?page no="172"?> Any criteria for which conferences you attend? Andre · From an investor's perspective, events can serve different purposes, from deal sourcing over firm or personal branding to fund‐ raising or recruiting. Accordingly, we rank every event along these dimensions, assemble a healthy mix across the year and make sure those team members with the respective strengths attend. Independent of the conference, one thing is key: take the time to properly prepare or don't attend at all. Which role do social media channels play in your work? Andre · Highly important and too often underestimated. I'm convinced that for a modern VC, there is no way around social media platforms as they heavily benefit the deal sourcing, screening and also deal winning. Let me provide some context: Markets (US way earlier than Europe) have changed from demand-side constraint (not enough $$ for a growing number of startups) to supply-side constraint (lots of $$ hunting for a limited number of startups), and as a result, competition among investors has exploded. With hedge funds, growth funds and multi-stage firms moving upstream (i.e. investing earlier), identifying future winners as early as possible has become key for most investors, and one way to find them right at inception is via social media channels. For example, whenever someone adds “working on something new” or “stealth mode founder” to her LinkedIn profile, the founder can expect to be contacted by a range of investors right away. This is what we call “data-driven sourcing”. Moreover, social media platforms allow investors to quantify a variety of success indicators, such as the number of followers, employees or job postings on their LinkedIn profile, but also qualitatively access the market perception of a startup via sentiment analysis across posts or news mentions. Hereby, VCs can more easily spot promising startups and reach out to learn more. We call this a “data-driven screening approach”. Unsurprisingly, the relevance of social media channels doesn't stop here. The best founders can be very picky and once VCs are committed to invest, investors must become creative and stand out via founder-friendly terms, including high valuations, firm brand and track record and personal brand and track record, among others. For firm and personal brand building, social channels like LinkedIn or Twitter, but also content platforms like Medium, 172 5 The Peculiarities and Intricacies of Startup Communication <?page no="173"?> have become crucial. Investors work hard to expand their thought leadership and speak about their successes across channels. In short, social media is seeing and being seen. One pillar in your communication strategy is to champion your portfolio companies and spread their news. If done professionally, this is a win-win situation, and yet, it is not self-evident. Elisheva, what are your recommendations to startup comms professionals? Elisheva · Ensure that founders have a clear story on why they initially founded the company, why the team is the right one to solve the problem, and what's unique about the solution, plus what legacy do they want to leave? Develop a ready page of FAQs if headed into tricky PR territory or if you have a complex topic or terminology. VCs have the benefit of sharing wins across many portfolio companies and should highlight the hard work of portfolios. Keep in touch with the communications leads at portfolio companies: repeatedly ask how to best support them; be on the proactive lookout for their wins, and share these on Twitter and LinkedIn. Business is always done by people, so I like to take a very human approach. Tag investors or co-investors to be sure news is on the radar and to cross-leverage it further in the network. I also consider and suggest a portfolio company's services if people ever ask on Twitter. This gives much more global visibility. I also like to find podcasts where I can feature the C-levels, or I interview them myself for one of our Medium series. Judging from your experience, which media are particularly impor‐ tant and opinion-forming from an investor's point of view? Elisheva · Obvious choices for media coverage: Financial Times, Forbes, Economist, Bloomberg, Fast Company, TechCrunch, TechEU, Sifted, but also The Information, Institutional Investor, and VentureBeat. Depends on which country you are in: Handelsblatt, Les Echos, Le Monde etc. Being a guest on influential podcasts helps. Also, don't discount Twitter: despite the noise, there is value in connecting with founders and building a brand. Just look to Mac Conwell of Rare Breed Ventures for proof. Sam · At Eos we track a broad range of media, including a number of specific trade publications. These are helpful in keeping up to date with 173 5.3 How and Why Investor Communication Is Critical to Your Success <?page no="174"?> market news and identifying broader trends in innovation and funding activity. We also receive updates on market comps and performance of listed startups which all feed into our view on valuation and the exit environment. Andre · I'd distinguish between general ecosystem mediums and topicspecific ones. In the first group, I value startup-focused outlets like Tech‐ Crunch, VentureBeat, Sifted, Tech.eu, BusinessInsider or even more general ones like Financial Times, Handelsblatt or SZ. On the topic-specific ones, I consume lots of newsletters and academic journals on AI, data science, data tools and developer tools. Again, balance is key, and it's important to know the latest on the macroand micro-level. Eos Venture Partners and Earlybird invest mainly in early-stage startups. Investors invest in people and in a story, a vision, at the beginning. Is that right? Or put another way: what role does good storytelling play? Andre · While I'm a big tech nerd and a strong believer in fundamentals, I also needed to appreciate that storytelling is an equally important compo‐ nent of venture success, specifically for CEOs. Not only do they need to repeatedly convince investors, from their initial angels down to the public markets when conducting an IPO, but also new hires, customers and, in many cases, large communities of users. Clearly, the modern CEO should be a great storyteller, either by nature or coaching. Sam · A compelling vision or good story is not enough on its own; more important is the ability of the management team to execute that vision. As Thomas Edison said, “Vision without execution is hallucination.” Ultimately, investing in early-stage companies is all about the people. Does the founding team have the right blend of experience, diversity, capability and relationships to execute the vision? As an early-stage startup, the company will most likely have limited traction and therefore being able to present a compelling vision is critical to building confidence in the business. The vision must pull together various strands including the growth potential of the business linked to the target addressable market, the competitive landscape and positioning of the business, how the product or solution satisfies currently unmet demand, and how the business can build and defend a sustainable position in the market and ultimately set out a path to 174 5 The Peculiarities and Intricacies of Startup Communication <?page no="175"?> a successful exit. The most successful startups - from a fundraising perspective - are therefore those able to critically instil confidence that this is the right management team to deliver on that promise. Imagine you were allowed to award a prize for good communication to a startup. Which startup would you award and why? Andre · DBT, a startup in the modern data stack that has formed a community movement around its product which is unseen. A perfect example of consistent communication, powered by unique content, their own podcast, conference appearances and a lot more. Have you ever been completely wrong about a startup? Andre · Surely. However, the biggest regrets are not the ones which we invested in that turned out to be a failure but the ones where we decided to not invest that turned out to be huge outliers. This is the magic of earlystage VC, often called the “asymmetric risk”: You can only lose your money once but make 50, 100 or even more times your initial investment if the stars are aligned. Although we've been lucky to partner with a range of these outliers, the list of misses and thus “completely wrong” decisions is long. Elisheva, you said once that brand relevance, effective storytelling, and an authentic message that resonates are critical. Can you please explain? Elisheva · The modern person's patience is limited, inundated with information, and taxed to filter constantly. So any brand needs to stand for something meaningful, convey that clearly, and shelve any fakeness or boasting. The brand is a differentiator in VC. All VCs offer funds, so what do you do beyond that? I firmly believe what you offer has to go beyond financial support, identifying and describing your offer in compelling ways. Introducing your team members, being approachable, stating what and how you invest, how startups should effectively pitch to you, and showing how your network will help with follow-on rounds or business partnerships. All of this should merge into an understandable and relatable message. This messaging evolves and takes time, being continually shaped as new people join. So it's good if a VC has someone to help guide this, pulling the facts forward and facilitating the team in demonstrating their character. If the end message appeals and resonates, more people are attracted to your brand, and the community grows. 175 5.3 How and Why Investor Communication Is Critical to Your Success <?page no="176"?> You also mentioned the first rule of marketing, namely that no one cares and that communicators must change that. How? Elisheva · I snagged that from Udi Nachmany during his talk on Accel‐ erating GTM with the Cloud Giants via Angular Ventures. It rang true. Communicators must accept this as a first rule. Only then can you humbly get to the root, asking yourself: what might make someone care? Research your topic; listen to your community to see what you can say that does matter to them. See your company or firm as part of a bigger trend; talk about others in your space or industry and discover how you differ. This is especially true for journalists swamped by pitches and stories. What would make them care enough to write about a VC's portfolio company? Answering this means studying their beat, their writing cadence and coverage, and exploring future trends and bigger themes that your portfolio company or VC activity fits into. In other words, get outside of yourself. Maybe you know that from experience: you have great experts and good media relations, but you don't have any impressive news to offer. How do you develop relevant content and help your case? Elisheva · Great communications involve a mix of owned and earned media. So I suggest helping your team to write, which facilitates one's owned media. For example, try a series of pieces highlighting unique team knowledge or offering advice on common issues. Maybe collaborate with others in your field to produce something special. In terms of earned media, I recently heard a former TechCrunch-journalist-turned-VC suggest talking to your C-levels, product leads, and heads of sales: find out what they are learning and seek to understand the pain points or customer topics. Look for those larger trends you can share with a journalist. I recommend starting at the basic narrative building blocks. Reflect on what you want to be known for. Check out Gloria Chou who helps earlystage startups come up with unique PR angles: she says look at how many startups are solving problems in your industry; position your company against those, thus giving the journalist a real landscape problem-solution view, with you as an active part of it. Earlybird is a well-known and highly renowned investor. That's quite an advantageous situation. Also for unicorns, it's easy to get lots of public attention. Any tips for startups that are in an earlier stage? How can they become more known? 176 5 The Peculiarities and Intricacies of Startup Communication <?page no="177"?> Andre · There is a range of playbooks on how to get positive atten‐ tion. For example, many startups nowadays tend to establish communities around their products, oftentimes complemented by a bottom-up productled growth strategy. They start with newsletters, podcasts or other mediums to create a very personal, bi-directional road: educating their users while at the same time incorporating user feedback into their product roadmap. Word of mouth spreads quickly and if done well, public attention will follow. On the other side of the spectrum, I've seen B2B startups with a focus on large enterprises and top-down go-to-market motion having their customers talk about their products in keynotes or case studies. Certainly, a reason for journalists to learn more about the referenced startup. While there is clearly no silver bullet and lots of nuances to consider, all playbooks have one thing in common: a laser-focused and intentional communication strategy from day one. Few stars are born by accident. What makes for successful communication with investors? How does it differ from cultivating relationships with the media? Sam · The staple of successful investor communications is an open, honest and regular dialogue. Invite proactive discussion and debate with investors on key topics, and leverage the experience and connectivity provided by Board members and the broader investor community. Set clear objectives for Board meetings and investor dialogue with specific requests for support. Promote excellent governance with timely, structured and detailed management information. Media communication will often have more of a sales focus, promoting the business either to potential customers or future investors. Press releases, interviews and social media can play an important role in raising the profile and awareness of the business. “Media coverage and public recognition is the result of a startup's economic success.” Would you agree to that statement? Andre · I tend to disagree. Given that startups and their investors are private companies by nature, external parties have a hard time correctly assessing economic success. As a result, there can be significant gaps - in both directions - between external perception and internal success or failure. There can be huge noise but no fundamentals and vice versa. That being said, it's up to the founders to build honest relationships with journalists early on and keep a healthy balance between external hype and perception and internal fundamentals. 177 5.3 How and Why Investor Communication Is Critical to Your Success <?page no="178"?> What are your three tips for founders when talking to investors? Andre · 1. Structure is key: Cover the basics like problem/ market, solu‐ tion/ problem, competition, defensibility and lock-in effects, go-tomarket, business model, traction and, most importantly, your team. Connect the dots with a great story to make it easy for investors to recall. 2. Be on the spot: VCs see thousands of pitch decks and speak to hundreds of entrepreneurs per year. Reduce the number of words without saying less. 3. Zoom in or out on demand: Don't expect that VCs have read the pitch deck or done any research upfront; expect to start at 0 with a high level of abstraction but be ready to dive in if necessary. Sam · 1. Simplify the message. Investors want to be able to easily understand the business model, team, opportunity, growth potential, nature of the product and how the business is differentiated. 2. Present realistic and well-thought-out projections linked to a coherent go-to-market strategy, reflecting market conditions and the competitive landscape, including both incumbents and new entrants. 3. Provide clarity around the key milestones, objectives and dependencies for the business for the first 18 to 24 months, together with a detailed plan on how the business will achieve the required performance and mitigate potential risks. Andre · To add a special fourth tip: Don't forget to ask your questions. Dating goes in both directions. Can the CEO of an early-stage business de-prioritise or outsource investor communications? Sam · The short answer is no. Building and maintaining investor momen‐ tum is a key part of the CEO's remit and something that requires constant focus and attention. Fundraising never stops for an early-stage company. 178 5 The Peculiarities and Intricacies of Startup Communication <?page no="179"?> Where is the single best place to be as a founder, builder, investor, communicator or journalist? Elisheva · Easy, Twitter. 5.4 Funding Communication - The Centerpiece to Raise Awareness Anniina Sulku Communications Lead at Aiven Let's talk about funding communication. You have already commu‐ nicated several funding rounds. What makes funding communica‐ tion so special? Anniina · Funding communication tells the growth story of a startup and where it is heading. Each funding round is a concrete step towards making the company vision come true, and each funding announcement is an opportunity to talk about it. This is why funding communication should not be just about how much money you have raised. Rather, the news should be tied to the company's key messages. It should communicate why you exist in the first place and how your customers benefit from your product. Strict timelines, juggling between several stakeholders and getting your message through in the crowded news landscape make funding commu‐ nication both challenging and rewarding. I've learnt that great funding communications requires careful preparation, the right messaging, and continuous relationship building with the media, your internal team, customers, and investors. 179 5.4 Funding Communication - The Centerpiece to Raise Awareness <?page no="180"?> Where are the biggest stumbling blocks? What do you have to bear in mind? Anniina · Most people underestimate the work and time that are needed to announce a new funding round successfully. Keep in mind that you can start preparing funding communications long before you know a fundraising announcement is coming your way. Any brand and communi‐ cations strategy work you do will help tremendously when drafting the communications plan. Defining your company's vision, mission, values, and key messages - as well as identifying your spokespeople - is key. Also, make sure to build good working relationships with the co-founders, the executive team, and the investors from day one when starting in your role. Fundraising is an intense and sometimes emotionally straining process that affects the company's direction. So, once the deal is closed, the news is expected to be announced quickly. Still, your job as the communications lead is to make sure that the funding announcement is prepared properly and used as an opportunity to get the company's message across to the relevant target audiences. That's why, before drafting a press release or contacting journalists, there needs to be a communications plan - something that has been discussed and approved by the core team. The plan should include why, what, to whom, how, and when you communicate the news. You can't put it together alone. What you need from the person leading the fundraising is a good brief and an in-depth discussion about the objectives and timeline of the announcement. So, as soon as you hear about the funding, make sure you get all the relevant information. Be proactive and talk with the key people to understand all you need to know. Encourage the co-founders and CEO to offer as much headsup as possible on an upcoming fundraising announcement to the comms lead. With smaller funding rounds (seed, round A), a few weeks can be enough to get the news out, but with bigger announcements (from Series B forward), having even four to five weeks' time to prepare and do the media work can be extremely valuable, especially if you want to get on the radar of big tech media outlets like TechCrunch. Larger media, in particular, often want to communicate funding exclusively. What experiences have you had? What do you recom‐ mend? And what role do embargoes play? Anniina · Basically, you have two options: an exclusive or an embargo media strategy. (What you shouldn't do is to distribute the press release 180 5 The Peculiarities and Intricacies of Startup Communication <?page no="181"?> to the media on the announcement day without contacting any reporters beforehand. That's like inviting friends over for a party the same night and expecting they can make it.) An exclusive strategy means you offer the funding story to one media outlet exclusively, and if they agree, they get to cover the news first. With an exclusive strategy, remember to agree on how many hours of lead time the media outlet gets ahead of the others. You might want to favour early morning times, like 6am, so you still can circulate the news a few hours later and have the rest of the day for other media outlets to cover the story. In its simplest form, an embargo is the announcement date and time you have on your press release: aka the earliest time when a journalist can publish the news. Do not assume that journalists commit to embargos. Do always ask if they will. An embargo strategy means that the media outlet agrees that they will (a) cover the story and (b) release it not before a certain day and time. You can offer the story to several media outlets as an embargo. In that case, make sure you are transparent with the journalist on how many media outlets and which ones have agreed on the embargo. Usually, this kind of strategy works if you are communicating the news in multiple regions in several languages. There are pros and cons with both exclusive and embargo strategies. You should evaluate these strategies based on your announcement objectives. For example, what is the target audience you want to reach? What media outlets do they read? If there's a specific media outlet you want to prioritise over others, say, Financial Times, and your only chance of getting them to cover the news is to offer the news as an exclusive, you might want to use the opportunity. My experience is that when the news is interesting enough, you don't necessarily need to put all your eggs in one basket and only offer the news to one media. If you want to get a wide reach for your news, an embargo strategy might suit you better. You can, for example, list five media outlets per region to whom you will offer the story as an embargo. The journalists you contact should be people you trust, as news leaks can happen if you don't know the media landscape or journalists well enough. When planning the announcement timeline, consider time zones, public holidays, and any other major events that might keep journalists busy and make it harder to get the news out. I suggest avoiding Mondays or Fridays as 181 5.4 Funding Communication - The Centerpiece to Raise Awareness <?page no="182"?> publishing dates unless there is an urging need or distinct press advantage, like getting featured in a newsletter. If you don't understand which media outlets and which journalists should be on your media list, I encourage you to ask around from your network or hire a PR agency to help with the funding news. Preferably, you should already have a freelancer or agency before preparing the fundraising announcement. Also, don't forget to utilise your investors. They most likely have contacts with the media and can help with intros or distributing the news to the media. Funding communication should be planned in detail. What does such a plan look like? Anniina · This is the part I'm really passionate about! Although not all funding news is big news, below is a detailed plan that you can modify to meet your organisation's needs. Your communications plan should start with an executive summary that includes the basics: round size, investors, why did you raise, when will you announce, who is the team working with the announcement and what are the roles and responsibilities. If you have documented any learnings from the previous funding an‐ nouncement, review it and decide what to improve this time and how you will do so. Start the actual plan by listing the announcement objectives, timeline (see an example below), key messages, and target audiences. Continue with a PR plan that includes the chosen media tactic (exclusive or not? ), spokespeople, quotes needed, media list (what media outlets and journalists to contact), and materials that need to be drafted (press release, media kit, Q&A document), as well as a link to a shared calendar to coordinate media interviews with the company spokespeople (usually the CEO and the lead investor). Think also about what you will do if the news leaks. Then, put together a content plan. List everything that needs to be in place on the announcement day: images of the co-founders and the company product or service, social media posts and visuals, website content updates, blog posts, newsletters to customers, and so forth. Think ahead: what product launches, marketing campaigns, or other projects are already in the works and how can the announcement boost or drive traffic to those? Or is there something on the roadmap that needs to be moved up or delayed due to the announcement news? For example, at Aiven, 182 5 The Peculiarities and Intricacies of Startup Communication <?page no="183"?> we decided to announce our startup programme together with our Series C extension announcement. That meant we had to speed up the project and bring in more people to the core team to get the work done. Make sure the fundraising announcement boosts your company's recruit‐ ing efforts. Does the career webpage need to be updated? And should you communicate the funding news to potential candidates or those who have recently declined your company's job offer? Don't forget to plan internal communication. Ideally, you want to share the news with the team as soon as possible to avoid any rumours about the subject. But you also want to keep the internal and external announcements as close to each other as possible, so that the news doesn't leak. You should communicate the news both live and in a written format. Make sure there is room for discussion and questions. Prepare an internal Q&A document for employees that answers questions such as “What does the new valuation mean for me, and how does the fundraising affect the option plan? ” Employees are one of your most important communications channels when the news is ready to be shared externally. Support them with an info kit so that they are well-equipped to share the news. The kit should include social media posts, images to share, links to the external Q&A document, and the press release. Make sure to keep the team informed and share any updates, such as key media hits in a dedicated Slack channel or similar. Any communications updates and reports should be well summarised and easy to digest. Finally, list down how you will measure the funding announcement. Develop quantitative and qualitative metrics that fit your objectives, such as the number of tier-one media hits, key message inclusion, the share of voice, social media engagement etc. It's also good to schedule a debrief meeting with relevant stakeholders to review how the project went, and to discuss the results. Note: ■ Don't commit to an announcement date before you know 100% that it is something you and the team can carry out. ■ Don't underestimate the time you need to get the quotes for the press release and get the release approved by all the internal and external stakeholders. Only after that can you start media pitching. 183 5.4 Funding Communication - The Centerpiece to Raise Awareness <?page no="184"?> Most journalists will decide if they will run the story only after they have read the release or at least received the high-level bullet points of the story. ■ The sooner you can start pitching to the media, the better. Ideally, you should have at least two weeks to contact journalists and let them interview and write the articles. Most journalists will be very thankful if you can give a heads-up even earlier, for example, three weeks before the announcement day. ■ Keep all the stakeholders in the loop all the time. Don't count on people reading their emails or Slack messages. Brief the executive team, investors, and, if possible, employees to make sure they know what will happen and when. Be very clear on the plan, timeline, expectations - and when the news can be shared externally. Example of a timeline: ■ Every week □ Weekly meeting with the CEO □ Weekly meeting with the team working on the announcement □ Keep everyone - the executive team, founders, investors, and employees - updated on how things are progressing ■ Week 1: □ Internal brief to discuss the main points of the communications plan (objectives, key messages, etc.) □ Draft the communications plan □ Define the announcement team's roles and responsibilities and brief them as soon as possible □ Call with the investors and their comms leads □ Heads-up to your PR network (agencies/ freelancers) □ Start drafting the press release □ Request quotes □ Reach out for data you need (you should have the most recent data about the company performance, team size, demographics etc. in hand for the media) ■ Week 2: □ Review PR, content, and internal comms plans internally □ Book possible interview slots from spokespeople's calendars 184 5 The Peculiarities and Intricacies of Startup Communication <?page no="185"?> □ Send the press release to investors for final approval □ Internal sync: Once the comms plan is approved, lock down the announcement date and time ■ Week 3: □ Press release finalised and approved by everyone, coordinate language versions if needed □ Start media pitching □ Put together information kits for employees, investors, and the media □ Prep the spokespeople and do media training when needed ■ Week 4: □ This week is for pitching to the media, giving interviews, and finalising all the content (blog posts, visuals, images, etc.) needed for the announcement day ■ Week 5: □ Internal announcement: live Town halls in all relevant time zones (do record) + written message from the CEO/ co-founders □ External announcement + give the employees a go-ahead and materials (social media kit, including images) to share the news □ More interviews with the media □ (Social) media monitoring □ Start measuring the results ■ Week 6: □ Monitoring and first results □ Feedback and debrief call with the core team, share results with everyone How can startups prevent information from leaking to the media too early? Anniina · Leaks become more likely as the funding rounds get bigger and more people are involved. Sometimes leaks do happen, no matter how much you try to avoid them. That's why you should always have a plan B in case the news gets out too early. So how can you prepare yourself and your organisation? Anniina · ■ Offer embargos to journalists who respect them. While sharing the news in advance with an industry influencer might be tempting, they might 185 5.4 Funding Communication - The Centerpiece to Raise Awareness <?page no="186"?> not follow journalistic principles or understand what an embargo stands for. ■ Try to keep the press release within a small group of people (I know, it's difficult! ) ■ Monitor or have someone monitoring the media and social media 24/ 7. ■ Establish a private communications channel where you and the core team can discuss and decide on the next steps quickly and confidentially. ■ If a leak happens, act fast. Contact all journalists committed to publish‐ ing the news and explain the situation. Be transparent. A leak means that embargos will break, and the news will go out sooner than expected. ■ Inform the employees immediately. Let them know the next steps, for example, if they can or can't share the news yet. Although many media outlets put a lot of emphasis on covering news first, a lot of media outlets prioritise a good story even more than being the first one reporting on it. Also, be prepared that some journalists will just want to get the news out and write a shorter story than they intended. Act professionally if you get criticised by journalists. Media work is all about trust. If you have established good relationships with the media beforehand, things will be easier to manage. PR is supposed to portray a company, a product or a person in a positive light. But where there is light, there is also shadow. What if journalists put their finger directly on the problem, and use the funding as a hook for a completely different story? Anniina · Journalists have the right to choose their perspectives. If there are problems or negative stories, those will eventually come out. So the question is not how to hide problems, but what to do about them? Every organisation should map situations that could grow into reputa‐ tional crises. Make sure to act preventively and develop messaging for different scenarios together with the executive team. Usually, if there is a big problem, it's better to talk about it proactively, as you have a better chance to own your message and impact how the public conversation unfolds. For fundraising communication, it's important that you understand the media landscape and identify which tough questions might be asked of the company spokespeople, employees, and on social media once the announce‐ ment is out. That's why you should draft an external Q&A document that includes all possible questions and answers to them. The team should be always aligned on the message as that will build the brand in the long run. 186 5 The Peculiarities and Intricacies of Startup Communication <?page no="187"?> 5.5 Launch Communication - Raise Some Eyebrows, Attract Your Audience Sara Morić Global Comms Lead at LimeWire | ex-Bitpanda What is your biggest learning when launching another market? Sara · My biggest learning is that there are no rules. You can read a million textbooks, but nothing prepares you for the variety in the conditions of individual markets and the constant changes that are happening on a small scale, let alone the global scale. This is especially true when you're in a sector such as crypto, where sentiment changes with the market movements. One month, there may be a strong optimistic sentiment fueled by celebrity endorsements, and then the market collapses, some projects turn out to be frauds, and the feeling shifts dramatically. In these situations, it is beneficial to demonstrate that your team is genuine, experienced, and trustworthy. Demonstrate your compliance to regulations and legislation. Because, as everyone in the PR industry knows, a good reputation is difficult to regain, therefore invest in it from the start. Can you give an example? Sara · When we launched Bitpanda's services in Poland, we had to navigate carefully because the media were quite critical. So we focused on regulation and started a conversation with the Polish journalists. Poland has had a wild ride with crypto, with some local scandals shaking up the country and resulting in animosity amongst the public and the press towards the topic. We had to think of a way to show journalists that we are there to stay and that we can be trusted. This is why, in Poland, we held an inperson session (once COVID allowed for it) with Polish journalists about how Europe approaches the challenge of regulating crypto assets and what 187 5.5 Launch Communication - Raise Some Eyebrows, Attract Your Audience <?page no="188"?> our legal position is. One of our most knowledgeable team members from the legal department talked about the European regulatory ecosystem and highlighted Bitpanda's best practices that have helped us transition into a regulated environment. So, what are some of these practices? Sara · Growth that prioritises and fosters a compliance culture. Proactive engagement with regulators as early as possible. Early adoption of knowyour-customer measures that have strengthened trust. Strong focus on hiring legal and regulatory experts. And we showed how we did all of this as a company. The session was not meant to produce a publication; it was meant to show that we are here, that we as a company are real people doing the best we can to ensure our users are in safe hands. Growth needs to be smart, not just fast. Therefore, PR is not only about return on investment or clipping numbers, but also about building relations and managing reputation. Would you recommend hiring an agency to launch in another coun‐ try? Sara · When entering a new market, you can't just take a global strategy and hope it works. To reach the desired audience, you must also have a local point of view and experience. This is where local public relations firms may help your business have the best possible start in a new market. Researching local PR agencies in some countries is not an easy task. Websites are either in construction, have no English version, or case studies are missing. I even once found a contact email that was simply not active anymore. But luckily, there are ways to find some good players. LinkedIn is definitely one of them: if you have a wide network of contacts, you can simply post a question to the people in it asking for recommendations. If you are in the crypto world, which is complex and entails knowing not only about finance, but regulation and market movement, it is important to find someone with experience in at least one of the sectors that you will be communicating in. And if you have a local spokesperson, this job becomes much easier, especially when it comes to localising global content and making it work for a different audience. Bitpanda expanded into several markets in only a few years and is planning even more market entries. Maybe you can take us through the individual steps of your launch communication. What was your launch communication plan? What considerations and discussions did you have? 188 5 The Peculiarities and Intricacies of Startup Communication <?page no="189"?> Sara · Bitpanda expansions were quite slow in the beginning. Everything was thoughtfully prepared, and new locations were not entered before certain criteria would be fulfilled. This included a few things: first was the number of existing users. For years, Bitpanda had only been using word of mouth as a marketing tool, and the new users coming were usually those who heard good things about the platform from their friends. And many users in one country meant that the company already had a positive reputation there - an organic user base that was created without any marketing activities. This was one decisive factor. The other one, and this one is also communications related, are the local team and partnerships. Having a strong local team, with key opinion leaders who are already known to the wider public and media, is important in creating trustworthiness. It also shows that the company has the means and partnerships with established entities. Regulatory bodies, associations, and other companies are also an important step forward for enhancing investment literacy and gaining trust. And these two can and should be communicated. These two important pieces of the puzzle when entering a new market were always a part of our communications strategy. When we announced our entry into a new market, we also announced the country manager, provided the press release in the local language, approached top targets with an embargo, offered interviews, got to know the journalists that were the key for us when it comes to earned media, and the results never missed the mark. Partnership announcements also gave us huge credibility, especially in B2B media, which was important for our relationship with the regulatory authorities. This approach is considered a slow strategy in today's fast-paced world, but it pays off in the long term. Put quality over quantity and earned over paid. Also, choose a local approach instead of a central one. LimeWire, the company you now work for, is planning its re-entry in summer 2022. Since announcing that LimeWire is coming back, you have already earned coverage in outlets like CNBC, Billboard, Bloomberg, New York Times, Business Insider, The Verge, Variety, Vice, Rolling Stone, NME, Paste Magazine, and others. How did you do that? Sara · Much of the success was connected to our CEOs' simple and wise business judgments. You may remember LimeWire as a peer-to-peer filesharing software in the 2000s. It was hugely popular but got shut down about 12 years ago. The new LimeWire is a legitimate and legal marketplace 189 5.5 Launch Communication - Raise Some Eyebrows, Attract Your Audience <?page no="190"?> for buying and selling digital collectibles, such as limited-edition music and other artist content like backstage passes and unreleased songs. In 2021, while the NFT ecosystem was at its highest, the CEOs completed the acquisition of all the assets required to relaunch the brand in a big way. The LimeWire brand was iconic, and it meant so much for a whole generation of music lovers. Bringing it back to life in the fast-moving world of digital collectibles, music, and entertainment simply made sense. Not just from the brand fit perspective, but also from the communications side of things. Here you have a huge, loved brand like LimeWire, with a controversial history, especially with record labels, making a comeback, not only working for the artists, but also with those same record labels. And so, for our first announcement in March, the news got picked up worldwide, having thousands of clippings and even more mentions on social media. Interesting. So what is the same? Sara · First - and this is when I come back to something I said earlier - it's important to have a local partner that can help you navigate those unknown seas in the beginning. Therefore, if you use a PR agency, find someone who is your team member and a part of the company, not just hired help. It's your job to make them feel that way, so people skills are something surprising you must have to be able to navigate in a new market. Second - and this should be self-explanatory, but unfortunately it isn't - treat media with equal respect, irrelevant of the market's size. This is essential. Why? Well, a company will often consider smaller markets unimportant and not have their CEOs engage in conversation with local media, but save them for “bigger fish” (usually UKand USA-based media). But we as PR experts must make sure to point out to those same CEOs that every market and every journalist are important, and that earned media requires much more effort than paid. And yes, they need to set aside a few hours to dedicate to all media to develop proper relationships that will enable the company to gain the needed exposure in the local market. What is your number 1 tip for communicators who plan to launch in another market? 190 5 The Peculiarities and Intricacies of Startup Communication <?page no="191"?> Sara · Do not expect things to go according to plan. While having a plan is very much needed, make some room for changes. You can always expect deadlines moving forward and things changing, so don't communicate anything externally until you are 100% ready and set to go. 5.6 The Secrets of IPO Communications Hemmo Bosscher Head of Communications at Adyen Bettina Fries Senior Communications Advisor, Founder of Fries Con‐ sulting Bettina, IPO communication has fascinated you from the first day of your career. You love getting involved in new business models and supporting a company in a phase where a lot is happening, and communication adds a lot of value. What are the communication challenges of an IPO? Bettina · From a communications perspective, an IPO first and foremost offers an opportunity to raise a company's visibility and reputation to a new level. Those who successfully go public receive a kind of accolade from the capital market. At the same time, an IPO offers a “golden 191 5.6 The Secrets of IPO Communications <?page no="192"?> opportunity” for product communication, as there is a broad interest of various media target groups in the company, the strategy and the products. From a very practical point of view, an IPO is a complex project. A new target group needs to be addressed: investors on the capital markets - from institutionals to retail investors. The requirements for a stock market listing go hand in hand with significantly increased transparency and information obligations, especially regarding strategy, finances and corporate governance. All of this requires orchestrated and professional communication. Here, professional communication has a non-negligible influence on the company's valuation and significantly contributes to an IPO's success. Adyen can reflect on the most successful tech IPO in Europe's startup history. That was already in 2018. What were your challenges from a communication point of view? Hemmo · There were myriad challenges, probably enough to fill a whole book - for the sake of brevity, I've picked a few that stood out most to us at the time. For lack of a better word, payments were then and are now hot. Investors realised that regardless of a company's quality, several tailwinds were pushing the industry forward: an increase in cross-border commerce, the gradual disappearance of cash, accelerating digital adoption, more people participating in the global economy, underbanked populations etc. Digital payment was a growing market; that much was clear. However, all the players were making the same claims. To us, the challenge was: how do we differentiate in what we'd internally refer to as the sea of sameness? We chose simplicity and focused on removing the opacity from often-complicated financial language. This ended up working well for us, as the simplification of our equity story helped to make it memorable. We would often see investors get it quite quickly, allowing us to spend the time to dive into deeper topics. Analysts, too, absorbed our narrative well and included it - often verbatim - in their initiation of coverage notes. It would be gross hyperbole to attribute the success of the IPO purely to our approach to communications, but we can now confidently say that it did not slow us down. 192 5 The Peculiarities and Intricacies of Startup Communication <?page no="193"?> Factoring into our decision was the fact - perhaps challenge #2 - that we were pitching a distinctly Dutch, European, or rest-of-world company (in the eyes of the US investor base), as we compared to other companies in the space, to a distinctly North American investor base. At the risk of falling into caricatures, this meant operating in a landscape dominated by whitetoothed, sales-y, and self-proclaimed visionary CEOs. This was amplified by the fact that when you start working with the coordinating banks, they first try to pour you into a predictable mould of visionary statements on behaviour, total addressable market, unit economics, and Q&A. This wouldn't, and didn't, work for us. In line with our simplification approach, we presented ourselves oppo‐ sitely, perhaps more natural and true to ourselves. We were observant and pragmatic, not visionary. Our C-level communicators weren't clad in 5k suits, but wore the outdoorsman's clothing typical of tech executives. Our listing on Euronext in Amsterdam was unorthodox, but it was practical, too. We didn't employ a PR firm for whom we paid half a million. In fact, we did not employ one at all. All of this added to the perception of us removing several layers of varnish. What was left was a simple, memorable story, a great product, and an almost nakedly solid executive team. The pitch was so genuine that it was not hard to buy in. Bettina, you've already assisted several companies with their IPOs. Are there any communication measures that have proved particu‐ larly successful? Bettina · Yes, I think good preparation and structured development of the equity story well before the start of the actual transaction phase are very important. Because when the deal is announced, the focus is solely all about the transaction structure and the valuation. Therefore, I recommend a pronounced profile-raising phase to introduce the company and management. This can sometimes take a year. If the business model, the strategy, and the management are already known and media classified before the IPO is announced, it pays off in the truest sense of the word. How do you plan IPO communications? What needs to be considered, and how much planning is required? Bettina · The actual transaction communication - without profile-raising - can be managed well with a lead time of around six months. The IPO process is clearly structured in four steps: it starts with pre-marketing, 193 5.6 The Secrets of IPO Communications <?page no="194"?> i.e. testing the story with professional investors. This is followed by the ‘intention to float’, by which a company publicly announces its plans to go public. Next is the the offering period , when the shares are actually sold to investors during a roadshow. It all leads to the the listing on the stock exchange. For these four phases, I work with the company in advance to develop a detailed communications cascade that considers all relevant stakeholder groups and channels. In addition to external communication with investors, the media, customers, and political actors, it is extremely important to involve the workforce in communications at an early stage. When timing the communication, take the clearing process into account, i.e. the coordination within the large working group with the issuer, the banks, and lawyers. This requires well established processes and is quite time-consuming. Hemmo, let's look at a best practice. How did you plan the IPO communication? What was particularly important to you? Hemmo · Effectiveness and memorability of the equity story. We focused on crafting a narrative that, on a high level, worked when meeting BlackRock, but that would also explain to your aunt what on Earth it is that you do for a living when you meet her next Sunday afternoon. With that in mind, we worked first to distil our 10 to 15-slide equity story with the company's founders and current Board members. Once that was completed, it was sharpened through several pre-IPO rounds with potential investors and sell-side analysts. The rest of the collateral and initiatives trickled down from there. We worked on the whole IPO with a very small team, so it was easy to remain in control of the narrative. Looking back, was there a particular highlight? And perhaps also something that you would have done or planned differently in retrospect? Hemmo · The crescendo of the final weeks I'll never forget. The late nights, the early flights, the hooray internal moments. There were several memorable dinners, sleep-deprived epiphanies and moments of elation. I would recommend it to anyone. 194 5 The Peculiarities and Intricacies of Startup Communication <?page no="195"?> Going public might be the last step for some startups - the part where the founders and important employees leave the company for good. At Ayden, that is different … Correct. We were very deliberate in presenting this as perhaps step 4 of our 25-step plan as a company. We stated clearly that it would not alter our long-term direction - four years later, I'm happy to say it didn't. What helped us here is that we didn't go public to raise money; we simply swapped out a largely-VC shareholder base for a largely-institutional investor shareholder base. These VC funds were largely at the end of their horizons, which was the largest driver for us IPOing in 2018 vs 2016 or 2020. Has the media attention changed since the IPO? If so, to what extent? Hemmo · Yes, tremendously. We were a relatively unknown B2B com‐ pany before. As we focused predominantly on enterprise sales, this was never a problem for us - or at least not one worth prioritising over others. Once the IPO happened, we were not only a relatively more well-known B2B company, but we were also the company that had made a successful tech IPO. We had 20+ sell-side analysts covering us, institutional relationships to manage, a plethora of retail investor interest, and a whole different segment of the press focusing on our activities. More mouths to feed, more ears to consider. Listed companies are more heavily regulated. For example, they must disclose their financial figures regularly. How do you experi‐ ence this, and what impact does it have on your work? Hemmo · In line with our long-term strategy, we deliberately opted for a half-yearly reporting cycle. Quarterly reporting with quarterly guidance would have left us too much at the behest of market forces and perhaps choosing short-term optimisation to the detriment of longer-term objec‐ tives. So far, this has served us well. Certain leitmotifs in our shareholder letters ensure that our long-term story is consistent. Product successes and failures are incorporated into this overarching narrative through share‐ holder letters, interviews, capital markets days etc. The regulatory aspect does not have too big an impact, honestly. It does set the boundaries - the sandbox in which we can play. Within that, we can be very creative and communicate transparently at a cadence of our choosing. 195 5.6 The Secrets of IPO Communications <?page no="196"?> In the case of an IPO, many legal guard rails limit the scope of communication. What is allowed and what is not? And how do you deal with them? Bettina · First of all, you must consider that in an IPO, the main purpose is to communicate as fact-based as possible. This applies to both quantitative and qualitative statements. In addition, the business model must be presented clearly, supported by facts. In other words, it's all about transparency, clarity, and verifiability - the three basic principles of successful communication. Most companies adapt quickly to this fact-based communication style, and they profit from it in the long term. In the case of an IPO, it is also important that only information is included that can also be found in the official offering documentation - the prospectus. Be cautious when communicating corporate goals - especially with regard to expected sales, results etc. - because such statements can be interpreted as a forecast and might trigger a liability case if they do not materialise. Bettina, we just heard from Hemmo that the external communica‐ tion changes after the IPO. As an external consultant, what is your point of view? Bettina · Companies have to get used to regular quarterly communica‐ tion. For many, communicating results four times a year is a completely new cycle that requires good cooperation between departments such as accounting, investor relations, communications, and management. This has to settle in first - and often under time pressure. After all, the first quarterly report is often published just four to six weeks after the company is listed, so there is little time to prepare. Here, it is important to closely interlink the functions at an early stage and define the processes and content. However, regular communication also has a major advantage: it pro‐ vides a clear framework that makes it possible to plan communication events strategically and generate company interest throughout the year. Communication in startups is often very founder-led. When you go public, there are lots of other opinions, too. How do you experience that? 196 5 The Peculiarities and Intricacies of Startup Communication <?page no="197"?> Hemmo · Focusing discussions and distilling information (and opinions) are key skills that I would advise every communications professional to brush upon. Every founder, Board member, senior leader etc. have an opinion. It's our job to create a concise and coherent narrative. Hemmo, your team and you report to the CFO and also are respon‐ sible for investor relations. In larger companies, media and investor relations are often separate. Don't you need lots of financial knowhow to do this job? Hemmo · No. Going into it, this was my assumption, too. A basic understanding of financial reporting and profit and loss statements suffices; the rest is not rocket science. A lot is hidden behind the intimidating but needlessly opaque financial language. Chew through that, and it's remarkably simple, at least in the payments industry. Are you sometimes caught between two stools? Telling great stories on the one hand and being very accurate about figures on the other can be tough, isn't it? Hemmo · That's what makes the job so beautiful. I view the numbers as inputs and the narrative as output. There's the constant interplay and a lot of room for creativity within that. An IPO also has to be communicated very well internally. Bettina, your tips? Bettina · For young companies in particular, an IPO is a huge step that also affects the corporate culture. That's why it's important to prepare employees, who often hold virtual shares in the company as part of options programmes. My recommendation is not to make too much of a secret of the stock market plans, but rather to build up trust for this step amongst the workforce at an early stage. On this basis, it is also possible to manage internal communication challenges, such as a silent period in countries where no public offering is made. Of course, you should also celebrate the successful IPO - if possible, with the entire team. What happens if the IPO has to be postponed or even cancelled? Is our company then 'burned'? Bettina · My experience from many projects shows that you can remain calm in such cases. Of course, the postponement or cancellation has to be digested first. But if you clearly communicate the reasons here, you don't have to fear any damage to your reputation. 197 5.6 The Secrets of IPO Communications <?page no="198"?> In most cases, the management realises early on, i.e. before the publicly confirming the IPO plans with the intention to float, that the company is not yet ready. Mostly, external factors such as an volatile capital market environment in which the targeted valuation cannot be achieved also lead to a postponement or cancellation. Both can be communicated well to all stakeholders with professional communication. With a few weeks' notice, it is almost always possible to appreciate the considerable step forward in development that the company has taken simply by preparing for the IPO. What are your most important tips for other scale-ups or grown-ups that are currently planning their IPO? Bettina · It is important that the top management, usually the founders, get personally involved in the communication process. From my experience, I can say that one success factor in many cases is early communication training. This is mainly due to two reasons: firstly, management is confron‐ ted with the expectations of investors and journalists at an early stage. And on this occasion, we as communicators have the opportunity to understand the details of the equity story in-depth, so we are optimally briefed in terms of content and can anticipate the strengths and weaknesses preparing our strategy. Hemmo · ■ Set your goal as a broader team at the outset - define success. ■ Work backwards to set intermediate milestones. This is critical, as the whole process can be incredibly overwhelming. Even a behemoth of a document like an IPO prospectus starts with a single sentence. You eat a whale one bite at a time. ■ Ensure a seamless alignment between all external and internal stakeholders - one hymn sheet. ■ Build a simple, memorable equity story. I often use a little brother, or an aunt, as a proxy. If they won't get it, it's too complicated. ■ Generally: don't be afraid to question the status quo. Don't assume things must be done a certain way just because someone from a fancy bank in a cool suit tells you so. 198 5 The Peculiarities and Intricacies of Startup Communication <?page no="199"?> 5.7 What to Talk About and Not Talk About in B2B Communication Ben Kilbey Chief Communications Officer (CCO) at Britishvolt Your tag line is “we are all comms”. Why? Ben · Because everyone must understand the vital importance of com‐ munication to the evolution of society. Britishvolt is a British success story. You are one of the fastestgrowing companies in Europe. What, in your opinion, are the major differences between external comms in a B2B versus a B2C environ‐ ment? Ben · Batteries are essential to a successful energy transition. Yes, we are a B2B organisation, but we are also on a mission to educate the general public on the vital importance of low carbon, sustainable batteries to the next green industrial revolution. As such, communications to all parts of society are of major importance to our strategies. In terms of marketing, the B2B aspect is more technical-focused while the general public education is more broad stroke. For example, we had colouring sheets at a recent event to make sure young children are aware of how critical batteries and the energy transition are to clean air and a sustainable future for all. Not all batteries are created equal, the status quo is no longer sustainable. You describe part of your job as building the electric vehicle narrative globally. How do you go about that? Ben · Videos, thought pieces, comms strategies, media engagement, events, speaking slots, collaborations, you name it. I come at this from all angles. Britishvolt goes beyond batteries and touches on nearly all aspects of the energy transition, from renewable energy to the correct implementation of ESG principles and commitments. It's about positively 199 5.7 What to Talk About and Not Talk About in B2B Communication <?page no="200"?> impacting and influencing the entire energy transition narrative - not just electric vehicles. Collaboration across businesses that directly impact a sustainable future for all through thoughtful amplification is essential to combined success. Experience shows that marketing and PR are closer together in the B2B business. Can you confirm that? How do you work together with marketing? How have you separated the tasks from each other? Ben · At Britishvolt, marketing and comms operate in parallel to ensure that the messaging is consistent and that every activation is strategically linked. What role do daily and business newspapers and classic consumer media play for you? Ben · Huge. We have had tremendous support from all sides of the UK media, from broadsheets to tabloids. It really is the feel-good UK narrative of the decade. What role does social media play? Ben · We are very active on LinkedIn, Twitter and Insta and looking to build out a presence on Reddit and TikTok. A lot of the strategies are about recruitment and education, so all platforms play a unique role for different target audiences and age groups. Your three tips for successful B2B communication? Ben · ■ Transparency ■ Consistency ■ Informative A word about conferences and trade fairs: What role do they play for you and why? Ben · Target events that maximise your return on investment. We select the most important, and this is much more B2B. However, we do attend Fully Charged Live B2C, as it is an excellent comms platform and content generation and a chance to really firm up the education narrative. Recruitment fairs are also vital. 200 5 The Peculiarities and Intricacies of Startup Communication <?page no="201"?> One thing that is regularly underestimated in B2B communication? Ben · The power of real storytelling. You communicate the Britishvolt narrative not only externally, but also internally. What is the main challenge internally? Ben · Making people find time in their busy schedules to digest the communication. However, the external messaging and internal move in lockstep, so the team is constantly aware of the narrative. As we grow, internal comms must evolve with our people. Internal comms is as essential as external comms. You look back on a lot of experiences. What surprised you as CCO at Britishvolt? Ben · The speed of evolution of the narrative and just how important low carbon batteries really are to a successful energy transition. In retrospect, what would you do differently? And why? Ben · So far, nothing. I have had success through strategic planning, being truthful and transparent and making sure the journalists understand how important they are to my success. I collaborate with the journalists the same way I do with the industry. We can all be a positive force for change towards a sustainable future. 5.8 Building Trust and Expertise Through CEO Communication Oliver Aust CEO and Founder of Eo Ipso Communications You are one of Europe's leading communications and personal brand‐ ing experts. What is CEO communications? And why is it important? 201 5.8 Building Trust and Expertise Through CEO Communication <?page no="202"?> Oliver · CEO communications has two dimensions: the CEO's communi‐ cation skills and their role in the company's internal, external and financial communications. Both are crucial to driving a company's culture, reputation and financial success. Communications has therefore become a hard skill for CEOs. Just think of what a leader does in a startup: setting behaviours, focusing everyone on what matters, hiring lieutenants and top talent, and ensuring there is enough money in the bank. In other words, all key tasks require a high proficiency in communications - your most important skill as an entrepreneur, according to Richard Branson. In the end, CEO communications impacts the bottom line. Some founders are very active on social media and often speak at conferences. Is that already CEO branding? Oliver · Personal branding goes beyond being present. It means taking charge of your reputation, being part of the conversation and aspiring to be a thought leader. It also means staying authentic, taking the self out of self-promotion, and doing it for the good of the company. In recent years, we have seen a massive shift from an authoritative leadership style based on competence to a personal leadership style built on trust. The tonality is much more personal, and what we see on stage or on social media is actually the CEO's voice, not a script or a post written by someone else. Soulless corporate-speak is out of fashion. Your personal brand has to reflect your personality if you are to become unignorable. You host the podcast “Speak like a CEO” and have published several books on CEO communications. Where do CEOs and leaders go wrong? Oliver · Many startups go through an existential crisis at some point that could be avoided with better communications. The most important factor is the mindset of the founders. Too often, communications is an afterthought until a startup hits a wall due to a lack of customers, investors or a rudderless team. That's why successful founders transition from a communication last to a communications-first mindset. Successful founders embrace the fact that communications is their master skill because each key task requires 202 5 The Peculiarities and Intricacies of Startup Communication <?page no="203"?> proficiency in communications. They even start to enjoy it, because it makes such a positive difference. Everything else follows from there. What does good CEO communications look like? How does a founder find a brand essence that suits him or her? Oliver · To find that authentic essence, you need clarity on why you want to put effort into building a personal brand. It can't be a vanity project; it needs to be authentic. Once you figure out the reason, you can create a personal brand that reflects your goals and mission. Outstanding CEO communication means we trust that person and under‐ stand what they stand for. Your target audience can be small, but it must be the most relevant for the business. Not everyone needs to get it. You mention trust. It's crucial, for sure, but how do you develop it? Oliver · That's such an important question. For someone to trust you, three conditions need to be fulfiled: competence, integrity, and benevolence, i.e. you have the other person's best interests at heart. Of course, trust can only develop if your company is visible - no visibility, no trust. Psychologically, we trust and like the familiar. If the target audience trusts the CEO, they are more likely also to trust the company. After all, the familiarity bias is why companies spend money on PR, sponsoring and advertising. Some CEOs stand for something. Steve Jobs was such a person; Elon Musk and Sir Richard Branson also have distinctive brands. Sometimes I have the impression that these people simply have a very clear stance and opinion and are authentic. If you are not passionate about something, isn't the CEO branding a façade? Oliver · I agree. You can build a brand around competence instead of passion, but it will not excite anyone. A CEO's brand should reflect their full personality if they want to become unignorable. Unlike ten years ago, when showing personality was still largely frowned upon in the business world, today, authenticity helps us get noticed. Authenticity makes us unique, and uniqueness stands out. This, in turn, makes the business more successful and ultimately profitable. You help CEOs and leaders build unignorable personal brands and businesses. What are your major learnings? Oliver · One major learning is that CEOs who become thought leaders help their companies enormously. As we all know, there's a battle raging 203 5.8 Building Trust and Expertise Through CEO Communication <?page no="204"?> for attention, making it very hard for anyone to stand out from the crowd. Communication is also more personalised today: people trust people. A thought leader is a business leader who is perceived as a leading voice on a relevant topic or industry. Thought leaders don't follow trends; they make trends. You won't reach your company's full revenue potential as a CEO without thought leadership. And as a communications professional, if you are not trying to turn your organisation's leaders into thought leaders, you are missing out on one of the most effective tools at your disposal. Books and podcasts are great ways to build thought leadership credentials, by the way. What do you recommend to entrepreneurs and communicators who want to tackle the issue of CEO branding? How do you go about it? Oliver · Start with the strategy. Without a strategy, you risk ending up with a series of unconnected actions that will have little impact on your goals. Developing a strategy entails several steps. You need to be clear about the objective, audience, story, and precise positioning. What sometimes happens instead is that companies focus on a particular platform or channel like LinkedIn or going on podcasts. These are tactics, and it's important not to confuse tactics with strategy when building the reputation of a CEO. Many CEOs have a dedicated team or agency to manage their social media profiles. You follow the philosophy that leaders must be responsible for their brand. Why? Oliver · Content is a meritocracy. For CEO communications to be effective and to build trust, it needs to be the CEO's voice. That doesn't mean CEOs should write every word or click on publish themselves, but they need to be involved. As a CEO, your team or agency needs to have access to you and internalise your ideas, insights and values. Once you have an established workflow and great people around you, you get great content without spending a lot of time on it. A strong personal brand requires personal involvement. A CEO's voice often gets lost when they delegate and be done with it. This is why so much content on LinkedIn and elsewhere is so bland and forgettable. 204 5 The Peculiarities and Intricacies of Startup Communication <?page no="205"?> How time-consuming is it to become a great communicator? Oliver · It's a great question because it addresses the main reason why CEOs hesitate. The honest answer is that developing strong communication skills takes some time. But then something interesting happens: everything gets faster and easier - and more enjoyable. For instance, knowing how to tell the company's story or prepare an engaging talk in ten minutes will make the CEO more effective as a leader and will save time every day. There is another layer to this question. According to former Y Combinator president Sam Altman, a startup CEO should spend 95% of their time ensur‐ ing strategy is happening. His view is that communication and evangelising the company vision and goals are the biggest parts of the job. As a founder, speaking about many issues and being politically active can be tempting. Does that make sense? Oliver · It can make sense. I firmly believe that future success belongs to conscious CEOs who understand that people, the planet and profit depend on one another because that is what our societies rightly expect. Showing your purpose will attract ethical investors, conscious customers, and top talent. Purpose also means brand differentiation. I also believe that not everything has or should be politicised. A CEO can be a powerful cheerleader-in-chief if they believe in a certain cause or purpose. But it has to be genuine. Let's assume a founder is very introverted. How do you still convince them not to focus on communication? Oliver · I am not trying to persuade anyone. The person needs to be ready. Most founders fully appreciate the crucial role communication plays; they often just don't know how to level up the organisation and their skillset with everything going on. Interestingly, naturally gifted and extroverted people don't necessarily become the best communicators because they tend to wing it rather than work on their skills. Introverts tend to prepare better, work harder to improve, and often become better communicators. Anyone can be a great communicator, but it does take practice and dedication. The return on time invested is particularly high for founders because it helps create a higher-performing team, culture and company. 205 5.8 Building Trust and Expertise Through CEO Communication <?page no="206"?> How do you measure the effectiveness of CEO communication? Oliver · If it's successful, you will know it, and you will see it. If you have to measure it somehow, it's not quite there yet. Last, the question is money. Does it make business sense to invest time and resources in CEO communications? Oliver · The answer is a clear yes; there are countless studies and examples. Reputation precedes revenue. What is less understood is the high cost of not taking action. That cost is real. 5.9 Get Leading Edge! Why Thought Leadership Is Vital To Your Communication Success Florestan Peters Field Marketing Manager at SoSafe How would you sum up what thought leadership is in a few words? Florestan · In a nutshell, thought leadership positions you or your company against competitors, often using a disruptive element as a differ‐ entiator. The ultimate goal of thought leadership, in my opinion, is for prospects, clients and any other stakeholders to believe and understand that you are a pioneer and expert in your field. A strong innovative component makes your company unique in its field, gives you a strong differentiator in the market and helps you gain visibility overall. 206 5 The Peculiarities and Intricacies of Startup Communication <?page no="207"?> Some founders or CEOs are very active on social media and often speak at conferences. Is that already thought leadership? Florestan · Social media posts, guest articles and speaker slots can be used to reach your audience. However, thought leadership is primarily about positioning and messaging. Therefore, not just any presentation or article will help you gain thought leadership. Being visible in various media channels and present at conferences is definitely part of thought leadership, but it's just a vehicle and not the desired result. Conferences are often perceived and framed as somewhat elitist or aca‐ demic places, where only the latest research and state-of-the-art technology are being presented. Being present as a speaker at these conferences is key, as any spectator will associate your talk with the latest development in that area. You might be wondering how you can get a slot at a conference. There are only three ways, to my knowledge, of getting a spot at such a conference. The first one is the easiest and the rarest; the conference curator gets in touch and offers you a speaking slot. This is the highway to speaking slots, but it will only happen sporadically after you have already secured some other tier-one opportunities. Curators screen other events and ask their networks if they can recommend speakers. Getting into the spotlight there helps a lot in securing your speaking slots. The second way is the so-called “call for speakers” or “call for papers”. The speaker must submit a short form of a paper, including an abstract and some sources. The length and scope of the paper vary from conference to conference, unfortunately, but you are usually allowed to reuse the paper for other applications. How to spot the right topic for the paper is another challenge on which I will shed some light in the next question. The third option is rather expensive and less effective in the long run: buy your speaking slots. Not all conferences offer that option, but some do. If you need the speaking slot to reach a specific audience or build your references, go for it. The paid slots, however, usually have less visibility and are framed as paid slots, and that's not really what you want in the long term. How you use your speaking opportunity is key to building your thought leadership. Spread the message as much as you can. Use every channel you can to let your audience know your speaker was selected as a speaker for this conference. Ideally, you can prepare a whole communication plan with before and after event communication depending on the quality of the conference. Also, you can use this reference for your next applications. 207 5.9 Get Leading Edge! Why Thought Leadership Is Vital To Your Communication Success <?page no="208"?> Building credibility and a reference list through various speaking slots are very important for invitations to other conferences. What does good thought leadership communication look like? And how do you find the best topics? Florestan · Foremost, you should identify and focus on one core topic. It doesn't mean that you cannot try to be a thought leader in various disciplines, it just keeps your target group more focused and will help you get traction easier. As a startup, you can always communicate the founding story and how it's different from other foundations. Alternatively, you can also focus on the core discipline of your industry. Finding topics is quite a challenge. Brainstorming with your CEO can help you spot relevant topics. Before going into these quite short sessions, I look at what topics have been relevant recently at conferences and industry journals. Additionally, I try to get my fingers on some analysts' reports on industry trends and combine this inspiration with what is planned by our product team. If you then keep your USPs and core expertise along with your value proposition in mind, you will be able to find a topic. It's worth the effort, as you can use this topic for quite a few pitches. How do you offer articles to journalists? Do you usually pitch the topic, or do you send already written articles? Florestan · That depends on the industry. In my experience with the B2B sector, industry journals are keen on new stories. Thus I usually pitch around three to five topics in the form of a headline and a few bullets to display a rough storyline. Of course, I do some research beforehand and make sure to choose topics that are relevant to the media's audience. I always proactively ask the journalist for feedback, asking if the topics are relevant to their readers. This way - even if the journalist doesn't like my initial pitch - the journalist is more likely to reply and help me better understand what is needed, and more importantly, I get a chance to pitch a second time if my first topics were off. Positioning your company as a thought leader is not a trivial thing to do. How do you measure success? Florestan · This is a tough one. The ultimate goal of thought leadership is to get the biggest attention from your key audience. You can track basic KPIs such as traffic on social or your website, clippings etc. However, what always gave me the most accurate overview of our current external perception 208 5 The Peculiarities and Intricacies of Startup Communication <?page no="209"?> was: What sort of media is proactively reaching out to us for quotes and interviews? Who is requesting you as a speaker? And in what frequency? Let's have a look at formats. Writing articles is one thing, but by far not the only one. There are conferences, webinars, meetups, podcasts and countless other ideas. What other channels and tactics do you use? Florestan · I can only answer this question from my perspective of a cybersecurity B2B software-as-a-service scale-up. Activities and results of thought leadership may vary depending on the industry and the audience. I believe that's especially true for conferences. It varies from industry to industry and also strongly depends on your goal regarding thought leadership. If your goal is to create brand attention as a B2C startup, I would always focus on the channels that offer you the most reach, podcasts being one of them. As a B2B scale-up, external proof, like a speaker slot at a tierone conference, is worth gold. Even if the audience might be much smaller than at a podcast or webinar, the power of this external proof is priceless. You can integrate it into other communication materials and through that compensate for the small audience you have at the conference. As a cybersecurity B2B scale-up, conferences, and the communication around those, are key for our positioning as a thought leader. External validation is very important to our buyers and helps us gain recognition in the industry and press as experts in our field. In our case, this also means that social media posts can be used to spread the word that we are taking part in a conference, but we can't use social media to build the same perception of our thought leadership. At the end of the day, it comes down to the mix of media you use. My only rule of thumb here is the following: Prefer external channels over self-created ones, as you will generally reach a new audience. What is the benefit of thought leadership for founders who are still completely unknown or very little known? Is it even worth it? Florestan · Definitely! Thought leadership is what helps you increase your reach. Don't get me wrong, this will not happen overnight. Thought leadership is like brand building, which takes quite a while and is easy to tear down. You will have to invest a lot of time into various initiatives and in adapting your approach regularly. Another positive side effect 209 5.9 Get Leading Edge! Why Thought Leadership Is Vital To Your Communication Success <?page no="210"?> is that many like-minded people are present at these conferences. That helps a lot when it comes to getting a better understanding of your industry, getting connected with peers and receiving valuable input along with the gained visibility. Your three tips for effective thought leadership? Florestan · 1. Be clear on who your audience is and what your goals are. 2. Identify top speaker opportunities and try to get those speaking slots. 3. Communicate every single placement. Anything else you'd like to add? Florestan · Yes, just one last thing. Being a thought leader is not an approach that every business needs to pursue. Some products and companies might not have the necessary requirements for it. Your message should include how the solution you are offering to the problem is innovative, different and necessary. If you cannot position your product or services in that way, thought leadership might not be the most suited strategy for you. 210 5 The Peculiarities and Intricacies of Startup Communication <?page no="211"?> 6 How Do I Get in the Paper? The Art of Media Relations A key aspect of corporate communications is building and maintaining relationships with the media. Getting journalists to listen to you with a good story is not an impossible task, provided you do the necessary research and have a bit of flair when pitching. However, some founders overlook that their own professional topics and activities are far less exciting to “the world out there” than they are for themselves. An engineer develops an app to simplify expense reporting, and no one crows about it. An economist founds a startup that offers digital education to children as young as kindergarten, and no one finds out. The startup involved may find this frustrating, especially since, on the other hand, supposedly unexciting, downright banal things also make it into the newspaper, radio, or television. But what does this mean for those responsible for communications in startups? How do you make it into the media? What criteria do journalists use to make their selections? What are absolute no-goes in press relations? The following chapter takes a different approach and asks these questions to (former) journalists who report on startups on a daily basis. The journal‐ ists all reject journalism as mere court reporting. That is the role of paid advertising. Uncomfortable questions must still be allowed, and the best way to prevent media criticism is fact-based, honest corporate communications. To begin with, Catherine Treyz compares journalism and PR. As a former journalist and now Head of Communications at Cherry Ventures, she knows communications from both sides and explains why good relationships are already half the battle (chapter 6.1). Emma-Victoria Farr, European M&A correspondent at Reuters, and Callum Burroughs, a senior tech reporter at Insider, have spent many years covering stories in the startup world. In their roles, they sift through many press releases a day and pick and choose what they believe will bring their readers the most value. In chapter 6.2, they share their tips. Next is Paul Sawers, a Europe-based journalist now covering (mostly) enterprise technology, who worked for The Next Web and Venturebeat and is now senior writer at TechCrunch. With more than ten years of experience, Paul has seen many pitches. In chapter 6.3, he tells us what a good subject line to an <?page no="212"?> email looks like, why he hates the word “unique” (and other buzzwords) and how to keep pitches short, yet informative. Next is a contribution from John Thornhill, who is the FT's innovation editor and founder of Sifted (chapter 6.4). Adding to the previous chapters, he elaborates on five golden principles when dealing with media: Do your research. Get to know the journalist. Be relevant. Get to the point. Do not lie. Last but not least is Dan Taylor, a renowned journalist and photographer. In his role as Managing Editor of Tech.eu, he has seen a lot of really bad photos attached to some really interesting news, which - in his view - kill the story. In chapter 6.5, he reveals what he, as a journalist, is looking for and how to fix bad press photos. (Note that in 7.6, there is another chapter by Greg Latham, who elaborates on do's and don'ts when shooting photos and videos for social media. Both chapters add to each other, but are written from two different perspectives, which is why you find them under two different topics in this book.) 6.1 Lessons from “the Other Side”: Helping Startups Build Relationships, Campaigns, and Wield Their Communications Know-How Catherine Treyz Head of Communications and Platform at Cherry Ven‐ tures Before becoming a communications director at a top European venture capital firm, you were a journalist. What was that like? Catherine · My comfort zone was a bustling, fast-moving newsroom in Washington, DC at strange hours … I loved this often loud newsroom environment, where I fact-checked, wrote, edited, and distributed breaking US political news to global television and online audiences. I became immersed in the ebbs-and-flows of news cycles, the comparative media 212 6 How Do I Get in the Paper? The Art of Media Relations <?page no="213"?> landscape, and important journalism (and PR) practices, and honed how to effectively place and tell stories in front of the right audiences. I loved the variety and intensity of it. Each day was different — as it is in VC and startup communications. So how did you end up on the other side? Catherine · I loved the rhythm, newsroom camaraderie, and nature of the news itself, but I started to itch for a change, and I moved to Berlin for a Fulbright journalism fellowship. Along the way, I decided to stay and pursue other media interests, such as business journalism. I then worked as an independent editor and journalist for various startup communities and news publications. After reading the first draft of an entrepreneur profile I had written, one of my then clients said, “You come across as very ‘pro-founder.’” That was the beginning of my trek into venture capital. Fast forward a couple of months, I found myself at Cherry Ventures, a “founders first,” pre-seed and seed-stage venture firm, where I have since built their communications arm. While I thought I had made a huge career leap, the truth is that I'm still a news person and storyteller. Sure, various aspects like the precise topics, tactics, and audiences are different. But, at the heart of what I do, I still fact-check, write, edit, and distribute news. I also help founders, and their teams do the same, working with them to build key foundations and strategies to do so. While newsrooms used to be my norm, now stories around lively, fast-moving venture capital deals are. Strange hours are still included. So, it's not so much “the other side.” Journalists and communicators are both shedding light on important developments that founders are making in this exciting European tech landscape. In your role as Head of Comms for Cherry Ventures, you have the advantage that you can offer journalists many stories from your portfolio companies and even point out interesting trends. Startups are usually not in the same fortunate position. Any tips for them? Catherine · It's true that I can choose from a wealth of stories. However, it all comes down to handling the news. Could you explain a bit? Catherine · Sure, let me give you an example: My first day “on the other side” was the first day of when COVID containment measures went into effect in Berlin. I was able to shift perspectives and flip my journalism knowhow into my new, now current role. This included crafting timely and topic- 213 6.1 Lessons from “the Other Side” <?page no="214"?> relevant communications to our portfolio founders, investor audience, and media. In this process, we at Cherry were also able to share our guidance externally to the ecosystem, which was then picked up by Bloomberg. While media coverage was not our intention, it was a lesson that good internal communications often translates well externally. We've since done this by meaningfully responding to new market dynamics in 2022 as well. At the height of COVID's beginnings, when we saw all media outlets shift coverage to the pandemic, we had several companies ready to announce news, be it funding or launches. But it was a different atmosphere. Tech journalists were covering the pandemic wall-to-wall and, quite frankly (and rightly), weren't going to accept news around a Series A as the world rapidly adopted newfound remote work and telehealth practices. Instead, I advised our companies on how to read headlines, anticipate potential coverage, adjust their media outreach plan, and more. We've since done the same around other external developments, such as the war in Ukraine. These early experiences have resulted in a rather robust in-house com‐ munications shop for our pre-seed and seed stage founders, supporting them on projects around announcements, brand workshops, social media maintenance, and community building. More so, these early experiences are also just a couple of examples that stress that not all announcements are handled the same. You said once that PR is all about relations. How so? Catherine · Press releases, press briefings, interviews, and such con‐ tinue to be solid forms of sharing news with the press. When done right, they can form a tight and crisp package to relay developments, messaging, media assets, and key personalities to the press. But PR is so much more than an email with a few attachments. It's about relationships. Now, I'm not saying founders, public relations leads, and journalists need to be friends. Not at all. But all parties benefit when there are open channels for clear communication. More often than not, early-stage founders do not yet need a PR agency. When starting out, it's often helpful that they do their own outreach or work collaboratively with a designated team member, investor, or key network to embark on their first steps in communications. 214 6 How Do I Get in the Paper? The Art of Media Relations <?page no="215"?> Like Rome, relationships with journalists are not built in a day. I often advise startups to try to build a relationship with a journalist before they have something to pitch. It's a bit like fundraising. Don't raise money when you need money. So, don't reach out to journalists just when you need it. Instead, send an introduction, commenting briefly on the previous reporting that ties into some of a startup's key business themes or developments etc. Then, when you have news to share, it's less, well, awkward. As a journalist, I often looked through previous communication - even if I hadn't replied initially! - to see if a startup had previously sent an introduction, thought leadership, or pitch. Over time, these relationships may move past emails. At conferences or other events, try to meet the journalist with the understanding that they're there to report and may be tight on time. Meet for drinks or coffee to further discuss developments in your company or space. Send updates or observations from time-to-time that may help spark a journalist to further explore certain areas. Many founders, especially when starting out, don't know how to approach journalists. Your tips? Catherine · Don't call them - especially if no previous relationship exists. However, early-stage startups should regularly note publications, independent writers, podcasts, newsletters, and other media plus key indi‐ viduals attached to them - in a spreadsheet. This helps build a foundational media distribution list. When reaching out cold, it is sometimes helpful for founders to be introduced via mutual contacts to a journalist. However, this isn't necessary. The big thing here is to read a journalist's website, Twitter, or LinkedIn bio to see if they even address how to be contacted. For example, many may say “DMs open” or list their emails. Some even have contact forms. This is super important. On this note, it's important to look at previous or stated coverage areas. If you have a consumer startup, reach out to a consumer reporter. If you're announcing a seed round, reach out to reporters who have previously covered seed rounds. Getting into the media is not always easy - it's good to build your own channels, too. You are quite successful in using social media for campaigns that last. Your secret sauce? 215 6.1 Lessons from “the Other Side” <?page no="216"?> Catherine · Amplify, amplify, amplify. When I first meet a founder, many times, they'll say, “I need to be in [X] publication.” The conversation that usually follows is: Me: “Why? ” Them: “Recruiting” Me: “So, how will you get your story in front of potential hires? ” Them: “Thought that was how …” Perhaps, I'm being a bit glib here, but chances are, a startup's potential hires aren't reading the front pages of news outlets as their only source of media. They're probably scrolling Twitter and LinkedIn for network updates like the rest of us. It's never enough to just rely on the coverage piece itself. You have to do something with it. Getting a story in a tech or similar news outlet is a big deal. But it's still just one part of the process. It's increasingly just as important to amplify your story across various channels and newsfeeds to better ensure your reaching potential investors, customers, hires, and partners. Similar to crafting a foundational media distribution list, I often advise founders to craft a network “amplification” map. This can be pretty liberal, including everyone from high school friends to key ecosystem partners. When their story is out, founders can send this list of their updates, linking to articles and socials. This helps encourage additional engagement, such as sharing of posts which further helps amplify their reach on social newsfeeds. In turn, this will also help build your own social channels. Social media is also a great way to build a community and campaigns, both big and small, around your product and news. How do you announce a killer round? Catherine · Announcing a round largely has three valuable purposes. First, it helps boost buzz for recruitment, customer acquisition, and additional business efforts for your young company. But, as mentioned above, an announcement here isn't enough. You have to place your media coverage where your target audience (re: prospective hires) read their news. Secondly, it helps build media relationships and media fluency which will be even more important later. Third, it forces founders and their teams to think carefully - and critically - about how they describe their company, its objectives to external audiences (re: potential customers …), and the company's narrative/ voice and how it can evolve (which it will). To announce a round, you need a few key things: 216 6 How Do I Get in the Paper? The Art of Media Relations <?page no="217"?> ■ An objective. Do you want to bring attention to job postings? Simply get your name out there? Test the waters? Do you want to tie in other news, like angel investors, exciting key hires, or actual product developments? This helps narrow down publications to pitch and rollout ideas. ■ A target timeline. When (date and time) do you want to announce? And while it's important to have an estimate, you should be flexible here. Increasingly, we're seeing reporters request 2 to 4 weeks to report and write (research, interviews, etc.). ■ An announcement. A press release, blog post, campaign, or a mix are just a couple of options that can serve as an announcement. We've even had companies do one tweet (yes, a tweet! ) and that has sufficed. ■ A plan. Do you want to get a targeted article (like an exclusive) or send out embargoed releases more widely to a variety of publications? The anatomy of a PR announcement looks a bit like this: ■ Keep the news at the top - ideally in the title headline, too - if sticking to a press release or blog post. ■ Keep it short. 1 to 1.5 pages printed is ideal, but there are occasional exceptions. ■ Keep it relevant. Try to tie your announcement into a bigger picture. Briefly explain what newsworthy trends or important problems your company seeks to solve. Briefly explain what the market is like, find key and reliable data to showcase your company's role or emerging role in the industry etc. ■ Keep pitching. In emails to reporters, don't just attach or simply repeat the press release. Take time to write a short pitch as to why the reporter should cover it and think of the press release as substance. Always offer to connect the reporter with the founder and politely ask to be replied to if the reporter decides to pass so you can move on. Another tip: Don't attach a pdf or document to an email. Paste in plain text at the base. Reporters don't want to download more materials than necessary. Keep everything condensed. 217 6.1 Lessons from “the Other Side” <?page no="218"?> Any must-reads? Catherine · I'm a big fan of newsletters. The best provide both context and aggregate top headlines in an easy-to-digest way. My recommendations: ■ StrictlyVC ■ Axios Pro Rata ■ Fortune's Term Sheet ■ Sifted's subject-matter and daily roundups 6.2 How to Work with Journalists Emma-Victoria Farr European M&A Correspondent at Reuters Callum Burroughs Senior Tech Reporter at Insider How many pitches do you get every day? What makes a good pitch for you? Emma-Victoria · I receive around 20 to 30 pitches per day, usually by email. The best pitches are ones that are tailored to my coverage (M&A, fundraising, IPOs), and they need to catch my attention within the first two sentences. Journalists are too busy to read an essay and make a decision. The most successful pitches are those that write first and follow up with a call a few days later. 218 6 How Do I Get in the Paper? The Art of Media Relations <?page no="219"?> Many journalists are inundated with press enquiries. Your is no1 tip for startup communicators when pitching to journalists? Callum · First off, make sure you are sending the most relevant enquiry to the most relevant person. A lot of my inbox is filled with messages which are either not suitable for me or even my team or publication, which clogs things up. If the company you represent is actually a good fit for the reporter in question, then feel free to follow up. I prefer to get to know the PR/ comms person a little as well so that I will pick out their name when going through emails. What are the most common mistakes that communication managers and founders make when pitching to journalists? Emma-Victoria · Irrelevant information or too much information. Information-heavy or very short, in bullet points or in full sentences, a precise topic or a full text already enriched with photos, graphics and data - what do you recommend to press people who want to “place” a story? Emma-Victoria · Be clear, concise, and to the point - everyone is short on time. It can be written in prose or bullet points. Precise topics are favoured, and usually only text and possibly a photo are required. What criteria do you use to choose what to report on? How do you separate the wheat from the chaff? Emma-Victoria · Easily - if it doesn't catch my attention in 30 seconds, I'm not interested, and neither will our readership take an interest. The worst pitches are those that are totally off-topic, giving the impression the sender has not bothered to understand what the journalist covers. Sometimes it's worth phoning ahead to check coverage criteria before sending a pitch - it saves everyone time. Callum · For me, I focus on a fairly specific area, so my choice is made for me from a beat perspective, but there are naturally a few things that differ. Typically we cover funding announcements, major organisational changes, trends pertaining to an area of growth in a given market, interviews with key figures on the operational or investing side, and features around important changes to a sector. 219 6.2 How to Work with Journalists <?page no="220"?> PR without journalists is not possible. How do you get in touch with the right people? Callum · Often, companies don't have press or media details on their websites or a person in charge of communications, so it can be difficult to find the right person. Data stories, i.e. surveys commissioned by companies, are a popular means among PR professionals to create news. What is your opinion on this? Callum · It depends on the type of survey and what actual news there is from it. Anything particularly shocking or surprising may well be enough to get someone's attention, but run-of-the-mill or common-sense findings are unlikely to be newsworthy. Are you often invited to startups or other companies? And if so, what do they have to offer you to convince you? Callum · I get invited to the offices of startups in London and when abroad on reporting trips. Usually, it's an alternative to going to a coffee shop or something else because of time constraints. I don't have an issue with this, provided it's not going to detract from the purpose of the visit. How has the coverage of startups changed from a journalist's point of view? There are so many startups and fundraisings now, and of course, all founders want PR - have the criteria for relevance changed? Emma-Victoria · If a startup has ambitious and believable growth plans, there is no reason why it should not get coverage, but there has to be a selling point. Readers need to know why it's important. Remember when pitching to journalists, they have no obligation to write a story how you want it written - that is a press release, not a journalism article. Understand what it is that you're seeking to achieve. Everyone has an agenda. Male founders, average success in terms of financials, valuation, growth, incremental but no radical innovations, in brief: a startup that is very much average. What do you recommend to the PR team? Emma-Victoria · Find out the selling point of the firm. Why does it matter to people? What is the point of the business? How can it be 220 6 How Do I Get in the Paper? The Art of Media Relations <?page no="221"?> successful? Will it be able to attract investors and sell? If there is no newsworthy angle, do not try and invent one. An essential part of external communication is media relations, i.e. establishing and maintaining contacts with journalists. What is that like from your point of view? Do you have time for that at all? Emma-Victoria · Journalists require all kinds of sources, and sourcebuilding is key for our profession. However, it must be expected that a financial journalist will want to speak to industry sources primarily (such as bankers, lawyers, investors, and corporates) and that media relations contacts are secondary. While the role of gatekeeper is very important, it is unlikely that PRs will be either permitted to share the required information or have the knowledge the journalist is after. Therefore, PR contacts are most useful for establishing connections with industry sources, and for quick responses to company comment requests in publishing articles. Good reporting that is as objective as possible should be free of economic interests. At the same time, the media have to finance themselves through advertisements. Does that influence your work? Callum · Not in the slightest. I work behind a paywall which is now a standard way for media to diversify revenue streams, given the vagaries of the advertising market. For the most part, we are looking to provide a valueadded service for our subscribers, meaning we don't need to cover every announcement to generate traffic. One startup wasn't quite as accurate with the truth and rounded up turnover and customer figures a little too generously. Do you look past that, or do you feel challenged now? Callum · Ultimately, if companies lie to reporters or are unhappy with coverage, they decide on their part. Sadly, not all journalists are immune from making mistakes either, but we are tasked with holding people accountable where possible, which requires a level of scepticism beyond the average person. It's best to operate on a trusting basis if you can, but if a company has been lax with the facts in the past, we may well ask for proof in their figures going forward. 221 6.2 How to Work with Journalists <?page no="222"?> What tips would you give PR people to make it a good cooperation for both sides? And what negative experiences have you perhaps already had? Callum · It depends a lot on the PR and the type of relationship they want to have or not. Realistically, better work is done when both sides understand how things actually work. I've had countless negative experiences of offered exclusives, a lack of transparency, lying on record, manipulating quotes, denying access etc. These are all part and parcel of the process, but it simply means I will be less willing to work closely with or trust a specific person in the future. And Emma-Victoria, your tip for communication managers in start‐ ups? Emma-Victoria · Be clear what you are pitching and understand its relevance to a journalist or newswire. Also: Understand the difference between onand off-record interviews. Journalists will usually require onrecord interviews for direct quotes, and this should be clarified at the outset. There is no legal obligation on the part of the journalist to offer a quote check. It should be understood that on-record means that the interview can be quoted immediately. Off-record conversations cannot be directly attributed to anyone but can be used in reporting for context, i.e. a source familiar said. This should only be used for sensitive information. Maybe an indiscreet question: Have press people ever tried to bribe you? Or manipulate you in any other way? Callum · I have not yet been bribed, or if I have, I didn't realise! Being impartial is very important. Do you have any best practice pitches that you remember partic‐ ularly well? Anything that stood out in the past? Emma-Victoria · Pick up the phone. You'll get a friendlier, quicker response, and you'll save everyone time. 222 6 How Do I Get in the Paper? The Art of Media Relations <?page no="223"?> 6.3 How to Pitch Best to Journalists Paul Sawers Senior Writer at TechCrunch | ex-VentureBeat You say yourself that you have received at least 100,000 pitches over the past decade, and that's a conservative estimate. How many enquiries from founders or press do you receive per day? Paul · It varies, but today I'd say I receive around 150 pitches daily. Not all of them are proper, personalised pitches about a specific story - maybe a third of them are just mass mailouts about a random story that has clearly nothing to do with what I write about, so I can just delete them instantly without any real consideration. Imagine you were to work as a communicator for a startup. What three tips would you give? Paul · 1. Buzzwords are bad. 2. Keep it short and simple (but informative). 3. Target and tailor. OK, let's start with buzzwords … Paul · “I narrow-mindedly outlawed the word ‘unique’. Practically every press release contains it. Practically nothing ever is.” That quote is usually attributed to a former New York Times editor called Fred M. Hechinger, in reference to one of the most commonly used buzzwords he encountered in his role. The sentiment behind the quote is as true today as it was in Hechinger's day, and it's quite possibly the number one grievance you'll hear from anyone who's pitched on a regular basis. 223 6.3 How to Pitch Best to Journalists <?page no="224"?> So the pitch has to be factual and informative? Paul · Yes. Every time I read the word “unique”, “innovative”, “disruptive”, “revolutionary”, or “game-changing”, a little piece of me dies inside. Such words are utterly redundant and have lost all meaning - but they are still so frequently used. Rather than plastering hyperbolic adjectives in an email or press release, just stick to the facts and get straight to the point. It's also important to remember that just because the company founder or public relations representative understands the industry parlance, it doesn't mean the journalist will have as full an understanding. So don't make too many assumptions about the journalist's prior knowledge of your industry or product - avoid jargon, acronyms, or any other kind of terminology that might deter them. Once you've dispensed with the buzzwords, you'll also want to think carefully about how you construct your pitch - almost always, keeping things short and simple is the best approach. A journalist will often receive hundreds of pitches a day, and they need to be able to quickly prioritise which ones hold the most potential - this means writing a 500-word essay for a pitch is out-of-the-question. Given that most pitches are sent by email, it all starts with getting the email subject line right (see more on that below), and then following up with no more than a few paragraphs on why the journalist should care about this particular story. Focus on facts - what is the news? Why is this important? What problem does it solve? What is truly unique about this product, the company and the story? Finally, you should target and tailor each pitch with a specific writer in mind. Don't just send the same pitch to a hundred different journalists. Research which journalists have covered similar stories in the past, take a look at the kinds of stories they're covering now and then tailor your pitch accordingly. Oh, and whatever you do, make sure that what you're pitching is real and genuine news - there is no point just peppering the media with press releases about every single tiny bit of news. Save your energy and resources for your big stories that stand a chance of receiving coverage. What does the subject line of an email look like so that you open it? Paul · There is an art to writing the perfect email subject line - you would be surprised at how many people simply write “press release” and expect the recipient to open it. 224 6 How Do I Get in the Paper? The Art of Media Relations <?page no="225"?> When you consider that many journalists will receive hundreds (or more) pitches a day, it's simply not possible to open and read every single one. And that is why the email subject line is so important. If there is no information in the email subject line that is relevant to the stories I normally write about, then there is a good chance I will delete it instantly - that's just the way it is. So - what does the perfect subject line look like? The answer is a somewhat boring “it depends.” The important thing to remember is that each pitch should be tailored to the writer that is being pitched. Let's say a PR person is pitching a story about Acme Inc., and the PR person knows for certain that the writer is familiar with Acme Inc. because they have written about the company in the past. In this instance, it would make sense to mention Acme Inc. in the email subject line - that's half the battle won already. Putting a company that the writer knows about frontand-centre in the pitch massively increases the chances of them opening it. So an okay email subject line in this instance might be something like: “Acme Inc. to launch new product that does XYZ.” However, that email subject line is still a bit “meh,” and doesn't really say that much. A better option would be to give more context to the news, and make the journalist care about it. Something like: “Acme Inc. challenges Amazon with the launch of product that does XYZ.” Everyone is interested in a company that's putting itself up against one of the world's biggest companies, so explaining that in the email subject line is a good idea. I can't stress enough here, though, that you have to be certain that the writer will definitely be familiar with the company. If it's a smaller company, and the writer hasn't covered it in the past six months, then there is every chance that the writer may have completely forgotten about that company, and the name won't mean anything to them anymore. If you're not sure whether the writer will remember the company or not, then you're best to assume that they won't remember the company. In such cases, it's important to give a hint to the writer in the email subject line. Something like this might work: “Exclusive: Major product update from Acme Inc., a company you covered last year.” Now, for a new company that the writer is unlikely to have heard of before, the email subject line should be written to reflect that fact - there is 225 6.3 How to Pitch Best to Journalists <?page no="226"?> little point in mentioning the company name in the email subject line; it's wasted space. One of the biggest mistakes startups and their PRs make is to pitch news that is simply not newsworthy or notable enough. If you can't think of anything interesting to say about a company or its news in the email subject line, you are probably best holding off pitching until you do have something interesting to say. Now, what that “interesting” thing might be will depend on which writer you are pitching. Let's say a fintech startup is announcing a $1 million funding round - it's not a huge amount of money in the grand scheme of venture capital funding. But let's say that startup has also secured a very high-profile early customer or a very well-known angel investor - that can make the story just that little bit more interesting to a writer that covers funding stories. So, in such a case, the email subject line could be: “This fintech startup just received funding from [big name investor] and secured [big company] as its first customer.” If a writer covers startups that are mostly from a specific geographic region, then you should include that information in the email subject line to make it relevant to them. Or, if a writer has a track record of focusing on female-led startups, for example, then you should include that information in the email subject line. It's all about emphasising different parts of the story to suit the writer's area of interest. For example: “This Dutch fintech startup just received $1 million from [big name investor].” or “This women-led fintech startup just received $1 million from [big name investor].” If a writer has shown no specific interest in startups from the Netherlands, is there any point in mentioning that in the email subject line? Focus on something else instead - always highlight the details that will interest the writer being pitched. If there is no interesting back story or founder story that is relevant to a writer, then focus on the company's actual product. What is its true USP - what is it looking to replace? A very alluring email subject line, in this case, might be: “Amazon's Product X is great for XYZ, but this company improves on it by doing XYZ.” There is no hard and fast rule for how an email subject line should be written, but the main things to remember are: 226 6 How Do I Get in the Paper? The Art of Media Relations <?page no="227"?> ■ Make it relevant ■ Make it interesting ■ Make it informative ■ Focus on USPs ■ Avoid buzzwords (“innovative”, “disruptive”, etc etc) And what does the first sentence of the email look like so that you read on? Paul · The first sentence simply has to follow on from the email subject line. It has to offer more context and information. So, I might click to open an email because it's a major update on a company I know very well, having covered it previously. The first thing I want to know is, what's the big update? Don't bother with any unnecessary pleasantries or irrelevant fluff - just get straight to the point. “Hi Paul, As you know, Acme Inc. has been gaining steam for its product that does […], and next week it will launch a major new upgrade that will solve major pain points for Fortune 500 enterprises - it will achieve this by doing […]. Let me know if this is of interest, and I can send you the full details, a video demonstrating the new features, and arrange a call with the founder. Best, Bob” For a completely new startup that I know nothing about, then the pitch should include a bit more of an introduction to the startup. “Hi Paul Acme Inc. is a one-year-old startup that's setting out to solve one of the major pain points for Fortune 500 companies, and its founder and CEO Jane Smith is well-positioned to do this, having served as a product manager at [big company] for the past seven years. The problem is […], and Acme Inc. solves that problem by doing […]. Acme Inc's first product is launching next week, and they've also secured $5 million in funding. Is this a story you would be interested in covering? If so, let me know, and I can email you more details, send you a demo video, or arrange a phone briefing with Jane. Best, Bob” Founders of unicorns, i.e. with more than a billion valuation, are usually much more present in the media and are welcome guests at 227 6.3 How to Pitch Best to Journalists <?page no="228"?> conferences, on podcasts, or even on TV. What do you recommend startups do at an earlier stage? Is it too early for PR? Paul · It is, of course, much more difficult for a fledgling startup founder to gain media coverage or an invite to a conference than their rival at a billiondollar business. But I do think that many startups become too obsessed with gaining exposure and media coverage, and that shows in the pitches I receive - most do not have anything close to a strong news angle. And a lot of the time, a pitch feels like more of an effort to indulge the ego of a founder who is more interested in promoting themselves than building a solid business. I've worked on the other side, too, managing communications for small companies - I know that there is often a deep desire to turn everything into a story. This often means sending out press releases for a new random executive hire or a new office to house ten staff. Not only is it incredibly difficult to get coverage for such stories, but the amount of time, effort, and resources that go into constructing the story and developing the pitch is rarely rewarded with any significant coverage that will “move the needle” from a business perspective. My top tip would be to not become too obsessed with getting fleeting mentions for “nothing stories” in the press; it's probably not as important as you think it is. Your product ultimately will do all the talking if it's good enough. That's not to say media coverage can't help a little bit. But if you oversaturate journalists' inboxes too much too early, they'll just automatically bin your emails even when you do have big news to share. Particularly in the early days, save your pitches for your absolute biggest stories - major product launches, big customer wins, a sizable funding round, and so on. Over time, as a journalist covers one or two of your bigger stories, you might be able to get away with pitching other less significant stories, because the journalist knows your company well and is happy to do one or two quick-hit pieces on a slow news day. The key is to get things right in the early days and not become too desperate for coverage. What annoys you most about working with PR? Paul · I feel like I spend way more time than I should be figuring out what a company actually does. 228 6 How Do I Get in the Paper? The Art of Media Relations <?page no="229"?> Pitches, more often than not, do not do a great job of explaining - in simple terms - what a company or product is and what problem it solves. This often extends to the company website too, where I might spend ten minutes reading various garbled pages filled to the brim with industry jargon and buzzwords - leaving me with no real clue as to what the company does. When communicating with anyone outside your industry, it's so impor‐ tant for a company to remove itself from its own little bubble. Way too many pitches assume that the journalist knows an industry inside out and will instantly “get” why an announcement is significant. Another annoyance is that there is quite a lot of dubious behaviour from the PR world. The most common example would be when a PR agrees an exclusive or earlier embargo with another publication without telling me - I can spend hours working on a story, only to discover when I come online in the morning that a rival outlet has already published something. It's not a good way to build relationships with the press. When you think back to interviews with founders, is there a personal highlight? Paul · I have been fortunate enough to interview quite a few founders in the early stages of their journey to the big time. If I had to choose one “highlight,” it would probably be an interview I did with Instagram cofounder and former CEO Kevin Systrom. I was at an event called “The Future of Mobile” in London back in 2011, and I noticed on the day that Kevin was scheduled to speak at the event. This was less than a year after Instagram had launched, but the app had attracted a lot of buzz and had notched up around 10 million downloads - this was before it had even launched on Android. I somehow managed to find Kevin's email address, and I sent him a quick message asking if he would like to be interviewed - he replied instantly with his phone number. I called him, and we met up during one of the breaks at the event. There is an old saying that goes something like: “The best camera is the one that you have with you.” And that definitely rang true on this occasion. I didn't have any proper equipment with me at all, but I did have a massive Android tablet in my bag - and that was to be my saviour. 229 6.3 How to Pitch Best to Journalists <?page no="230"?> There was no decent interview space that I could find at the venue, so Kevin and I wandered around looking in various rooms, and we finally stumbled upon what looked like a small staff canteen in the basement, with nobody in it. So we quickly sat down before anyone came in, I pulled my gargantuan Android tablet out, and I filmed Kevin as I rattled off a bunch of questions that I came up with on the spot. The quality of the interview was not great, mostly due to the poor video camera on my tablet, and the awful built-in microphone didn't help either - but it was the “best” camera because it was the only one I had with me! I should also note that given that I'd done no preparation whatsoever due to the impromptu nature of the interview, my questions weren't the best. Despite the decidedly haphazard nature of the interview, it served as a good example of how just being “out there” at events can lead to moments like that. As much as I love “remote” - I have not worked in a physical office in my entire journalism career - the physical world often throws up serendipitous interactions that are difficult to achieve online. Put simply, going to events in any capacity is a great way of meeting people, building connections, and raising your profile. As a company founder, you should definitely make yourself accessible and available in the early days, and industry events are good for that. About six months after I interviewed Kevin, Facebook swooped in and acquired Instagram for a cool $1 billion (the acquisition had nothing to do with my interview, I hasten to add). There would never again be an opportunity to interview Kevin Systrom in such an informal setting. A success in terms of financials, valuation, growth, incremental but no radical innovations, in brief: a startup that is very much average. What do you recommend to the PR team? Paul · Well, in the very first instance, you definitely need a solid news angle - something is launching, money is being raised, or there is something even slightly newsworthy. Without that, there isn't much you can do. You have to make the journalist care just a little. Assuming you have at least something of a news angle, your next priority should be making it as easy as possible for a journalist to cover the startup. This will involve doing all the hard work for them, and then pitching the story strategically - you want to hand them the story on a plate at exactly the right time. 230 6 How Do I Get in the Paper? The Art of Media Relations <?page no="231"?> So what does that mean? Paul · It means providing the writer with quality assets (e.g. founder or product photos), and coming up with an interesting “angle” that you think will at least make them take notice. Try and predict what kind of questions they might have, and ensure that these questions are addressed in your initial pitch. Don't assume too much prior knowledge on behalf of the writer - explain clearly what the news is and why it matters. But the single most important thing to get right here is the timing. You want to catch a journalist during quieter times - around public holidays can be a good time. News dries up around holidays, and writers are often searching hard for stories. Also, Thursdays and Fridays are generally quieter, while Tuesdays are the busiest for news - you do not want to be competing with big companies' news, so pitch your stories toward the end of the week when there is less going on. Put simply, you want to pitch your startup when there is less competing news, and there is a chance that the writer might be scrambling around looking for something to write. Because you have given the writer everything they need in advance, without having to engage in multiple back-and-forth email exchanges, they just might use that oneor two-day tumbleweed window to write something up. And that is perhaps the most underappreciated element of pitching - timing is everything. I am often asked, “Why can't you cover this story when you covered a similar story last month? ”. Usually, it's entirely down to circumstances - we have to prioritise stories at a given point in time. On a quiet day, I may be more inclined to invest a little time in a smaller story. All of this might still not work, but what you've done is maximise your chances by giving the journalist a gift-wrapped story at a time when they might need it most. You've done all the heavy lifting for them, found their angle, given them high-resolution visuals, an okay news angle, and something to chew on when they might otherwise be twiddling their thumbs. I would also like to add that a PR professional must be honest with the startup they represent. If there is nothing worth pitching, then don't try too hard to “find” something - it's really that simple. Rather than waste everyone's time and money, just wait until there is something worth shouting from the rooftops. 231 6.3 How to Pitch Best to Journalists <?page no="232"?> An essential part of external communication is media relations, i.e. establishing and maintaining contacts with journalists. What is that like from your point of view? Do you have time for that at all? Paul · This is very much down to the personal preference of each journalist. I'm sure many journalists love schmoozing, going to events, promotional dinners and so on. But it's never something I've really enjoyed. I don't get too close to PRs or founders, though I will always be friendly. There is a danger that if I do get too friendly, then that will cloud my future judgement in terms of the stories that I choose to write. Trust is vital, though, which is why it's important that PR representatives don't over-sell stories, exaggerate a piece of news, or give out any false or misleading information. It's quite a common scenario, one that can cause very damaging long-term effects in terms of building trust. That would perhaps be my top tip for building media relations: always be 100% honest and do not try to mislead through ambiguous language. And always tell the journalist if you've arranged an exclusive with another publication. Startups often feel the need to employ the services of professional PR and communication firms in the early days. Would you say that this is helpful or unnecessary? Paul · There may be some value in it, but I believe that it's mostly unnecessary - at least in the early days. As a startup grows and its name gets bigger, PR firms might be great for handling media relations. But in the early days when a company is unknown, there is a great deal of value in founders or CEOs reaching out to journalists directly themselves - it's a good way of building relations, and also gives the journalist a direct channel to the people who are building the product. PR firms and other intermediaries often just get in the way, and it's difficult for a journalist to send a few questions over and receive quick responses. By all means, seek guidance and support from PR professionals on how best to pitch, but I believe that the actual reach-out should come from the founders themselves - it's more personal and more useful in the early days. 232 6 How Do I Get in the Paper? The Art of Media Relations <?page no="233"?> 6.4 Understanding Business Media John Thornhill Innovation Editor at Financial Times, Founder of Sifted The Financial Times is one of the few quality newspapers that has many dedicated experts for different topics. How does that influence your work? John · The FT has more than 600 journalists around the world. Most of the reporters have a specific beat: covering fintech, the Federal Reserve, or Japanese politics, say. The FT wants its journalists to develop deep expertise in a particular area, build a strong network of contacts and become recognised experts in that field. But the FT tends not to leave experts in any one post for more than five years because they can often end up writing for fellow experts rather than general readers. There are very successful companies with several hundred or thou‐ sand employees that are never in the media. Is there a need for PR at all? John · Not necessarily. Companies primarily build their reputation through their relationship with their customers and their employees. If a company provides an excellent service or product, it is likely they will acquire a strong reputation. But many companies will want to increase their public exposure to increase brand awareness and attract new customers, employees and investors. The question they should ask is: Why do we want to publicise what we are doing? The answer will then help them target their message. A journalist is looking for a story. Scandals sell better than happy-golucky praise. So he interviews former employees, and someone will have something negative to say. Do companies have to accept that? John · That's life in the big city, I'm afraid. In the era of Glassdoor and social media, your employees will always be able to air their views publicly. 233 6.4 Understanding Business Media <?page no="234"?> That's a good argument for treating them well. Some disgruntled former employees may well want to talk with the media to get their story across. But any serious news organisation will always ask the company for their response. We always do at Sifted. I would say it is better to engage with a journalist to hear the accusations that may be being made against the company and to put across your version of events. Blanket denials of any faults are rarely a good idea. Journalists understand that disagreements between employers and employees are inevitable in the highly-charged and uncertain world of startups. They should, and most often do, put those disagreements into context. Many startups communicate relatively openly. Is that naïve? John · In my opinion, that openness to the media is normally a good default policy. But startups should be careful about commenting on issues or people outside their own field of expertise and inflaming controversy. It's not normally a good idea to slag off a rival or their products (on the record at least). They will most likely respond in kind. Press people focus on the positive sides of startups. But sometimes, there may be unpleasant topics to report. Layoffs. The business figures are worse than expected. A market entry is delayed. How proactively should startups communicate here? John · Donald Rumsfeld, the former US defence secretary, had three stock responses to answering questions from the press: 1) I know, and I can tell you. 2) I know, and I can't tell you 3) I don't know. Those rules don't cover every situation, but they are a good starting point. My summary would be: you do not always need to tell the whole truth, but you should never lie. Of course, companies should not go out of their way to publicise bad news. But they should not be afraid of discussing it if asked by a journalist. If you don't tell your own story, someone else will. A journalist interviews a member of the management. The conver‐ sation is friendly, and all questions are answered. A short time later, the article is published, which is unexpectedly critical. What do you recommend to those responsible for communication? 234 6 How Do I Get in the Paper? The Art of Media Relations <?page no="235"?> John · There is never any harm in going back to the journalist and trying to understand why they wrote the article in the way they did. But you are more likely to receive a response if you phrase it as a genuine enquiry rather than a rant. Journalists will never have the same viewpoint as you do. They will never write what you want them to. But you can at least make sure that they fully understand - and at least partially reflect - your point of view. Organising an event for journalists and offering a look behind the scenes - is that a good idea or a waste of time? Do media representa‐ tives even have time for such events? John · Journalists write to deadlines about unpredictable news and can therefore be unreliable - not on purpose, but simply because life happens. You should therefore expect a high drop-out rate for any event. But behindthe-scenes events can be a great way of explaining what your startup does and building relations with journalists. Don't necessarily expect an immediate response (except if it is for a product launch). But I would say the effort is likely to pay some dividends longer term. When a startup has become a successful scale-up, media requests from journalists come automatically. Is this impression correct? And how can very young companies that are in the red and don't yet have impressive customer or growth figures make it? John · Journalists are mostly interested in stories, not companies, just as VCs bet on jockeys, not horses. And the best stories usually revolve around people rather than products. Most readers can relate to fellow human beings more readily than things. If you have a great story to tell, then it should not be too hard to interest a journalist in your startup - irrespective of your company's size. The story does not always have to be about the founders. It can also revolve around how your product or service improves the lives of your customers. Being able to demonstrate how your startup is extending credit to the financially marginalised or helping treat people suffering from a rare disease can be powerful stories. Look for the human angle. Conversely, readers sometimes wonder how some marginal topics have made it so prominently into the media. To give an example: At the beginning of the COVID pandemic, right in the first lockdown, a startup landed quite successfully in the media with an analysis that showed that people spend less on restaurants and travel and more 235 6.4 Understanding Business Media <?page no="236"?> on home entertainment and food delivery services. Do you have an explanation? John · No. There is a certain randomness to the universe. But companies that are able to provide credible data about an observable new trend are always likely to attract attention. We all know that people spent less on restaurants and travel during the lockdown. But we do not all know that people who lived in central Stockholm increased their spending on home entertainment by 63%, say. Such data can interest readers and be of use to other companies. What if companies don't want to answer certain questions from journalists? How should a press person react? John · See Donald Rumsfeld's rules above. It is perfectly acceptable to tell a journalist that you cannot answer a particular question. It also helps if you can provide a good reason why: commercial or personal confidentiality, national security, non-disclosure agreements (NDA) etc. A red line that communicators should never cross? John · I repeat: never lie. Doing so will incur the lasting suspicion of the journalist and their readers and damage your personal reputation. 6.5 Why Your Headshots and PR Photos Suck, and How to Fix It Dan Taylor Writer, Photographer and Broadcaster 236 6 How Do I Get in the Paper? The Art of Media Relations <?page no="237"?> As news editor at Tech.eu, you receive many press releases a day - together with many really bad photos. What is the most common mistake with press photos you experience in your daily work? Dan · People mistake a snapshot with an image. I see a lot, and I do mean a lot of really, really bad photos attached to some really interesting funding news, which, quite frankly, kills the buzz. Startups need to fix that. You've worked with President Barack Obama, Vice President Al Gore, Steve Wozniak, Sir Richard Branson, Tony Fadel, Pharell Williams, Usher, Ghostface Killah et al. on creating evocative imagery that has been published in Rolling Stone, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Vice, … and the list goes on. Your biggest advice to startups when they are preparing publicity photos? Dan · The biggest offender that I see time and time again is a lack of selfconfidence. There is a rare breed of individuals who actually enjoy being photographed, we call them models, but if you're going through the process of doing a media outreach, it's time to play the part. You're not only building a company; you're building a brand. It's time to act the part, so stand your ground, square those shoulders, and give the camera everything you've got. Perspective, lightning, colours and backgrounds can make or break a shot. Can you give some tips on what to avoid? Any pitfalls? Dan · ■ I can't believe I have to bring this up, but make sure the image is in focus. I've seen this repeatedly, but my general rule of thumb has always been this: If I can't count the eyelashes, the shot is out of focus. ■ If you're shooting against anything other than a plain background, make sure that lines that should be level are, in fact, level. The average viewer won't consciously know what's wrong with the image, but if your horizon line is anything other than level, it's going to register in the viewer's mind. ■ Speaking of the background, a mentor of mine pointed out a long time ago that the background can be just as important as the subject. If it's too busy or distracting or doesn't complement, bring the viewer's eye to the subject, you'll need to change it. Sometimes this can be as easy as 237 6.5 Why Your Headshots and PR Photos Suck, and How to Fix It <?page no="238"?> taking a step to the right or left, and it is always worth a check before deciding on the “this is the one”. ■ Lighting. This is the crucial bit of the art of photography. For example, I can take a subject, have them sit on a chair and give you three different stories with three different lighting scenarios. Playing with light is one of the most interesting aspects of photography and can really help your shots stand out from the crowd. ■ Stop the normal; try something new. If you've got a theme in mind that you've seen somewhere else, that's fine, but for the love of God, do not copy it. Even if your startup is essentially a copy of another, you've got your own variation, right? Your imagery should be no different. ■ Be the boss. Ever notice the shockingly high amount of raised chins on hip-hop album covers? There's a reason for this. These artists project an air of authority. They own their product, their brand, and their image. Why is your offering any different? Own it. ■ Photography is mutual collaboration. It's not just one person capturing a photo and the other just posing for a shot. Photographer and photo‐ graphee need to work together to create something outstanding. When thinking about hiring professionals, there's always the issue of money. Can you give a rough estimate of the cost that startups should expect? Dan · The biggest advice I can offer when you're preparing your publicity photos: Hire a professional. And hire a good one. Talk to your colleagues, talk to your investors, and talk to journalists and PR pros that have great images. Hell, talk to me; we'll point you to the right people. If you think you can't afford a pro, ask yourself this one simple question, “Can you afford not to? ” Every photographer has their own pricing schedule, but expect to pay anywhere between €500 and €2,000 depending on your requirements. How do you find the right photographer who understands your personality, your brand and your product or services? Dan · As with any art form, there's no one solid answer for this, but finding the right photographer to work with is much like finding the right bands to see on tour. Does their work speak to you? When you were flipping 238 6 How Do I Get in the Paper? The Art of Media Relations <?page no="239"?> through various photographers on Insta, was there one in particular that you kept coming back to? The next step would be reaching out to this photographer and judging their response. If it's a simple “I'm free next week”, that's not a good sign. Whenever I respond to a potential client, I ask for a bit more information. Naturally, I try and track down what their company is and does, and I try to include this in my response. Likewise, I'll then find out a bit more about what they're trying to accomplish with the imagery. Is it a news release? Product release? Shots that are going to sit front and centre of their web presence for quite some time? All of these not only help me get a better understanding of what the potential client is after, but also challenge them to answer these questions for themselves. In other words, in my opinion, you can always find someone that's capable of capturing a snapshot, but if you're really looking to stand out from the crowd and are seeking an image, a true artisan will return your investment many times over. I came to work with mood boards to explain better what visuals and concepts I was looking for. Is that a useful tool, or what else would you recommend? Dan · Yes, and no. A general concept will get the conversation started, but please don't ever insult yourself or the artist you've chosen to collaborate with by asking for a frame-by-frame copy of another's work. Many people feel uncomfortable in front of the camera. How do you deal with that? Dan · It's a fact that most people are uncomfortable in front of the camera. You're absolutely right. When I notice this, one thing I love to do is turn the tables. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is one of the friendliest people I've ever worked with, but he turns into a deer in the headlights when he knows the camera is pointed at him. When we collaborated a few years back, he was incredibly stiff, and each shot looked like one pose after another. After a few rounds like this, I asked him if he'd ever been on the other side of the lens. I could see the question marks forming, and I immediately put my camera in his hands and said to him, it's all set up; just press this button. I then proceeded to give the Woz my best blue steel and saw him start to enjoy the process. After a few shots, I asked for the camera back, and we reviewed his work (he's actually not half bad), and then told him, “See, it's not so bad, is it? ”. After that very simple 239 6.5 Why Your Headshots and PR Photos Suck, and How to Fix It <?page no="240"?> exchange, we produced a number of images that, upon sending them to him, he replied via email, “It was great to watch you work today; I love seeing technical skills of all kinds.” Another fun one to get the ball rolling is to use some props. It helps to fool around in front of the camera. When I worked with Women in Tech podcaster and “Girl who Gets it Done”, Espree Devora, she commented on how great the t-shirt I was wearing was. Without even thinking, I literally gave her the shirt off my back and asked her to put it on. Complimenting the retro-chic gamer look, I handed her a pair of “nerd glasses” I often stow in my camera back, you know, just in case. One shot later, she still tells me that it is one of her favourite images of all time, and apparently, ClubHouse agreed, as that was the shot they chose when she represented their icon for a time. You now work as a writer and journalist. How important is good photography when choosing what story to cover? Or to put it more provocatively: Can a good photo make up for a bad story? Dan · I'm not sure a good photo can make up for a bad story, but it can definitely catch a journalist's eye. One case, in particular, is Cologne-based SoSafe. In January of this year, they announced a $73 million Series B round (good), but distributed a rather dreadful-looking image of its founders to the media (bad). TechCrunch's Mike Butcher saw the same thing I did and took to Twitter to ask, effectively, “Can we try a little harder on the founder photos? PLEASE? ” After a series of hilarious comments and suggestions, my humble offering was, “SoSafeWerk? ” - clearly referencing Germany's electro-pio‐ neers Kraftwerk. Four days later, SoSafe responded with an image captured by Franziska Alda. It shows the founders as musicians on their new album, titled “Series B tour”. Not only is this one of the best founders' photos I've ever seen, but it's also the ONLY founders' photo I've ever talked about months and months later. My only regret is that I didn't have the honour of collaborating with the SoSafe founders on its creation. Many journalists don't want to have attachments to emails. Is it a good idea to send photos at all? Dan · Right. There are several reasons for not wanting attachments, the mailbox size being a prime one. As I'm typing this, I'm looking at 2,289 unopened emails, accounting for some 8GB of storage space, so you get the picture … 240 6 How Do I Get in the Paper? The Art of Media Relations <?page no="241"?> Some publications have a lead image slot; others don't. In the news world, speed is everything. Tech.eu does have a lead image slot, so I have to have an image to go with every article I push out. I'd rather startups and PR folks give me the option of using one they've produced rather than me rushing out to find one myself (believe it or not, Facebook is usually my first stop as they have the biggest image sizing available. The second choice is Twitter, LinkedIn third). My personal preference is to have a series of images available via WeTransfer, simply because this is the best way to ensure the highest possible quality of images as well as metadata not stripped away (this is how authors can properly credit the artist that collaborated on the image creation). The second choice is Google Drive, which does compress images and strips away metadata. The third choice is an attachment, but make sure it's optimised to be an attachment and no larger than 2MB max. Last, and do yourself a favour by never, ever, ever doing this - attaching a zip file. Any time I receive a zip file attachment, there's a 98% chance that I'm never going to open it, and that story is never going to be written. 241 6.5 Why Your Headshots and PR Photos Suck, and How to Fix It <?page no="243"?> 7 From TikTok to Twitter: Social Media Communication It has been impossible to imagine everyday life without social media for years. They have also played an integral role in corporate communications for some time now. In startups, the company's own social channels are so central that a separate chapter is devoted to them here. The question of who has sovereignty over which channel is a recurring topic of discussion in startups. Often, the company's own channels are “co-managed” by one person - this does not do justice to the complexity of the task, but cannot be avoided entirely in the early phases of the company. Channels aimed more at customers are claimed by marketing. The HR department argues that professional networks such as LinkedIn or Xing are primarily suitable for employer branding. On the other hand, the communications team has a vested interest in sharing company news and reaching the media and the general public. The customer service team is concerned that more and more customers are speaking out via social media and that community management should be responsible for managing these customer inquiries and criticisms. And finally, the brand manager emphasises the importance of a consistent presence across all channels. So what can be done? In practice, there are countless variations - ranging from a dedicated social media team in marketing that covers all channels, to an allocation to different areas depending on the objectives for the respective channel, to percentage splits between individual departments, according to the motto: HR may determine 50% of the content, PR the other 50%. It is not possible to make clear recommendations here, given the different business models, resources, and constraints of startups. Now, there are still many more exciting questions, the most important being: How do you formulate a social media strategy? When is the best time for a social media post? Which is better: a high number of followers or a high engagement rate? Social media is not something that can be done “quickly on the side”. Those who believe this underestimate both the potential and the effort behind effective channels. Rather than making the same post on several platforms, specific channel and content strategies are needed, as well as <?page no="244"?> different content. This is why the following chapter takes a look at the different channels. It starts with Heather Moses from Nexthink, who looks at social media goals and community management (chapter 7.1). Then, we go into detail. TikTok, Twitter, Reddit, Clubhouse - the list of social media platforms is constantly growing. But which channels make sense? And which key figures are suitable for tracking social media activities and measuring success? Martin Perlin, Director of Marketing Communications at DriveNets, is an amazing LinkedIn expert. He shares what he's learned in chapter 7.2. Max Mundhenke, a digital strategist at Brunswick Group, is a prolific Tweeter with nearly 40,000 followers. He explains how to become successful on Twitter and how to deal with a firestorm (chapter 7.3). Next is Hana Wilson from Tibber, who knows all about TikTok and Instagram. In chapter 7.4, she looks at what type of story is promising and how to measure its success. Bianca Dumschat from Doctolib and Jessica Hashemi, social media man‐ ager at Checkout.com, both focus on using social media to engage with potential customers in a B2B environment (chapter 7.5). How do you use social channels to market products or services to business clients and prospects? Bianca and Jessica are two proficient marketers who know how to use social channels to reach and educate consumers and influence purchases. Finally, we look at images and videos, which are important to all social media activities. Images tell stories, arouse curiosity, awaken emotions and thus form a completely different approach than pure text. But what should be taken into account when creating videos and images? What can PR managers do themselves? What should they outsource to experts? Greg Latham, a professional photographer and filmmaker, gives tips and explains why guidelines for design and layout are so important (chapter 7.6), adding to Dan Taylor's contribution in chapter 6.5. 244 7 From TikTok to Twitter: Social Media Communication <?page no="245"?> 7.1 The Power of Communicating the Brand Through Social Media Heather Moses Senior Vice President of Marketing at Nexthink Nexthink has offices in nine countries, and there are 60 different nationalities that make up the 1,000-person company. How do you manage social media communication in these countries and mar‐ kets? Is a lot done centrally, or do the individual countries act relatively independently? Heather · While we have a full-time global social media manager for our global handles, we tightly coordinate with our in-region field marketing teams. Currently, we optimise LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube for a global audience - i.e. posting major news in English to our entire follower base. However, we work closely with field teams to tailor LinkedIn posts to publish to a key set of demographics for some local events and executive spotlight opportunities. For example, we published a Frenchlanguage post in France to promote the event regionally for a recent event in Paris. The post targeted our 5,300 French-speaking followers and had about 170 impressions with a 3% engagement rate. Collaboration is key, so we're not taxing this audience and lowering engagement or losing followers - more is not more! What are your most important social media goals? Why do you do it? Heather · Our goals are to: ■ Increase awareness of Nexthink ■ Raise executives' profiles so that the company is seen as visionary and leading 245 7.1 The Power of Communicating the Brand Through Social Media <?page no="246"?> ■ Tell stories that support Nexthink's message, that also connect to stories in the larger news cycle ■ Support positioning of Nexthink as the leader in the category we created: Digital Employee Experience (DEX) Accordingly, our strategy is built around three main areas: We want to educate the market on our category (show value); we want our audience to see we understand their issues (show empathy) and we use it for talent branding (show our culture). Let's start with the first one … Heather · Our software requires our prospects to think differently, to change their perspective. After decades of doing their job a certain way, we invite them to step back and see that IT teams must put people at the centre of their strategy vs putting technology at the centre. This shift in mindset means we need to educate the market that there's a better way, a different way. This new way will make their lives much easier, but to make this shift in the marketplace, we need to grab their attention, help them understand, and bring them on the journey with us. We've created a learning site, certifications, conferences, books and much more that we promote and amplify via our social and digital channels. This is not to sell Nexthink, but to explain this new concept and introduce this new category to the market. To help educate and show our audience the benefits of this new approach. For us, a win is when one of our customers gets promoted at their company using Nexthink and adopting this new approach. Our customers and prospects are changing the way work works, and we want to guide them on their path. You mentioned you want your audience to see that you understand their issues … Heather · Exactly. As a marketer of enterprise technology, I have not experienced success overtly selling high-value technology over social media. For consumer marketing and more high-volume transactional selling, it's a different story. In the future, this may change as more prospects expect consumer-grade experiences. That means everything from the experience of buying the products, to the procurement process, to the overall user experience once in the product. Peer reviews are also another key area of focus for us right now. Yes, there's even Yelpification 246 7 From TikTok to Twitter: Social Media Communication <?page no="247"?> in business software! We're finding more and more that it's one of the first places our audience goes to when they are more actively getting into a buying cycle. For social media, it's never about looking at how great my product is; it's about starting a conversation with a specific audience or person. We want them to know that we understand them and their issues and want to help them. We want to be relatable and build that affinity that will get them to engage, click through, or share. The third and not least area was talent acquisition. Heather · It's critical for us to support recruitment and ensure Nexthink is perceived as a great company to work with and for. In this tight labour market, exposing who you are as a company, what your mission is, and who your people are is one of the most important things you can do. We work closely with our talent team in Human Resources to create campaigns, videos and content to really try to pull back the curtain on the company, so potential candidates, customers and partners can get a real feeling if Nexthink is the right fit for them. What are some ways to really amplify your message and extend your reach on social? Heather · It's been said that marketing is too important to leave to just the marketing department. This is especially true when it comes to social media. You have an army of marketers to support you - every employee in your company! We are constantly providing updated posts for our teams on our social posting platform, we encourage our teams to promote on our internal social collaboration tools and we also try to create experiences that are worthy of a post or share. For example, we create beautifully tailored posts for new employees joining the company; we encourage our teams to post their swag when they are onboarded, and we encourage them to be active on social. We also often run social contests with cool prizes for best posts, most posts or most engagement on a post. There's such a choice in social media channels that you have to put focus on some of them and discard others. How do you decide? Heather · The key is to understand your goals and then understand where your audience is spending their time. For Nexthink, our key customers and prospects spend time on LinkedIn, and our more technical manager audience spends time on Twitter. For talent branding, we find LinkedIn the best. To 247 7.1 The Power of Communicating the Brand Through Social Media <?page no="248"?> show our culture and people, we also maintain Instagram and Facebook accounts. When customers are unhappy, social media is often their preferred place to communicate and vent their anger. Have you experienced that? How do you react? Heather · Two words: rapid response. It's true there are always folks and will always be that will turn to social media vs. just reaching out directly to the company to express their discontent. Of course, you need to be thoughtful in your approach, but my feeling is you need to address these things quickly. Be genuine. Be honest. Admit when you are wrong. At a former company, we had someone complain on social media that there were not enough women speaking at a tech conference we were running. Of the ten speakers, only three were women. As a big supporter of women in tech and women in leadership, this really hit me at my core. In this instance, we'd cast a really wide net to attract as many female speakers as possible but fell short. In our response, we were honest about that and also directly messaged the person (a woman in technology) to see if she had ideas about how we could do better for the next one. You use data to analyse your performance on social media. Can you share a bit more detail here? Which data is most useful? What are your learnings? Heather · Some of our key metrics to understand progress include total LinkedIn followers, total LinkedIn sharing, total Twitter followers and total Twitter sharing. We also closely monitor engagement and reach in the form of comments and shares outside our own social universe from customers, employees and partners. Any tool you recommend for community management and social media? Heather · Currently, we are using Sprout Social for post management and social listening to provide us with some key metrics. We also leverage their employee advocacy tool: Bambu. And finally, more broadly, we use TrendKite to understand our share of voice. Some of the social management tools offer basic levels for free or trials. Also, social channels already have 248 7 From TikTok to Twitter: Social Media Communication <?page no="249"?> some great metrics you can tap into (LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.), so be sure to check out what's available there for free first before investing. When you think back, what was a particularly successful social media campaign? Or your highlight? Heather · Overall, social media - whether for business or fun - is about education and entertainment. Personally, my favourite social campaigns make me laugh, evoke emotion or provide information in a new or inter‐ esting way. I have found anything that showcases our customers, our employees, or partners does really well. People love to see other people! We just finished up a series of funny videos for tech professionals to illustrate how moving to a more proactive approach to handling tech problems is always better than a reactive approach. We did this by showing real-world scenarios to illustrate it … Showing someone put on sunblock vs when you don't (ouch! The burn). Or when you lock the door to your home office and have a professional Zoom meeting vs when you don't, and your boyfriend walks in eating a banana in his underwear (ouch! The burn of embarrassment). We had hundreds of shares and tens of thousands of views for the series, and it's still performing. Why? It was a relatable campaign that found a fun way to illustrate our point. 7.2 How to Be Successful on LinkedIn Martin Perlin Director of Marketing Communications at DriveNets Which channels do you use for which purposes and/ or audiences? Martin · Social media channels are the first point of contact with our target audience and the most valuable touchpoint for sharing our message. The primary channels I work on are LinkedIn and Twitter. However, for me, 249 7.2 How to Be Successful on LinkedIn <?page no="250"?> LinkedIn has shown to be the best channel for reaching the audience that fits the industry that I am in. What do you do to hook people into your social media channels? Martin · Consistent content. Social media isn't about one-off dramatic events, but continually producing content and sharing relevant posts. The underlying strategy for making this happen is creating and maintaining a regular content plan. How do you combine all elements to make a social media post more inviting and appealing to people? Martin · Delivery is key for social media. While you may be sharing a high-quality piece of content, it may go overlooked without the right promotion. On LinkedIn, there are some key areas to focus on broadening the appeal to your audience: ■ Visually enticing banner ■ “Above the fold”-line of text that hooks ■ Tags and hashtags that connect to others By far, the visual banner will be the element that catches their attention. From my experience, people pictures, and even more so face pictures, are the best performing posts instead of a traditional corporate-style banner layout. You are an expert on LinkedIn. Do you have any insights into how the algorithm works? Any tricks to share? Martin · Well, no one can say definitively how the LinkedIn algorithm works, but there are some best practices that help gain favour with the algorithm. Some of these practices are: ■ Post consistently and at the best time your audience interacts. ■ Exploit the “golden hour”. This is the window of time from when your post was published. LinkedIn gives more weight to the interactions that happen during this time, so the more engagements and comments that happen in the golden hour, the better opportunity you will have for LinkedIn's algorithm to promote your post to a wider audience. ■ Get a variety of engagements. I believe LinkedIn doesn't just measure the overall number of engagements (likes), but the ratio of engagements to comments. A post that has a higher ratio in this area will probably get promoted better by the algorithm than a post that merely has more likes. 250 7 From TikTok to Twitter: Social Media Communication <?page no="251"?> ■ Use “… see more” strategically - LinkedIn measures engagement around various actions, not just how many people clicked “like”, but also the number of shares and how many people clicked “… see more”. So the trick here is to consider your words carefully to encourage your audience to click “… see more” to get the rest of the story. LinkedIn suggests that companies should post regularly and engage with and respond to followers' comments to be the most effective on the platform. Sounds great in an ideal world, but that's a full-time job… What do you recommend to startups who do not have a social media manager fully dedicated to that? Martin · On LinkedIn, it is generally recommended to post at least once a day and no more than five times per week (for most companies, this means once per workday). Publishing more than five times per week diminishes the return on investment, where the LinkedIn algorithm may start to view these posts as spam. LinkedIn doesn't want a user's feed to be overwhelmed by posts from the same company, so the second post in a day that a marketer publishes can cannibalise the performance of the first. My recommendation for startups that do not have a dedicated role for social media is to make sure that someone or a group owns the social media responsibility. Posts don't appear by themselves. This means maintaining a strict process and making a habit of social media. The first day of the week should go like this: ■ Set up a list of five concepts to share. ■ Write the text to accompany them. ■ Create the graphics to be featured with the post. With social media posts being only the tip of the iceberg as part of an overall content plan, the ideal scenario would entail building a content calendar for blogs, press releases, and larger content items like white papers. Having a simple calendar like this can serve as a valuable guide for staying on track to posting regularly. Publishing a blog post weekly or once every two weeks can fit into one of the slots for that week's posts. Other content items to be considered are republishing third-party news related to your industry or just lighter items like images from company events. Once you get in the habit of creating a content plan, you will constantly add items to your idea list. Instead of staring at a blank page every week, your creative mind will 251 7.2 How to Be Successful on LinkedIn <?page no="252"?> be bursting with inspiration, and you'll never find yourself at a loss for what to post about. Following this approach, using a scheduling tool greatly reduces the weight of worrying about regularly publishing items. You can just “set it and forget it”, setting up all your posts at the beginning of the week and letting them publish automatically at your designated time. For a startup team with just a few team members, a social media schedular platform can be a valuable team extension. You said once that engagement fuels exposure. Could you explain that? Martin · As various levels of interactions happen to a post on LinkedIn, this behaviour factors into how the LinkedIn algorithm will raise exposure for the post. So as more people click “like”, write comments, and click on the link in the post, all these types of engagements will influence how LinkedIn further promotes and exposes the post. From LinkedIn's perspective, with various types of engagements happening (not just the amount of likes), the post is considered highly relevant and can become a trending post that can go far beyond your circle of connections. Does it make sense to invest in professional content at all? Or is the “quick and dirty” do-it-yourself approach better? Sometimes, you may put together the most polished content that took a long time to create, but then a selfie you made in an instant gets ten times the exposure. Martin · Ultimately it is about interesting and relevant content to your audience, particularly on LinkedIn. If the “selfie-style” post fits the content of the posts for the target audience, then it can be relied upon regularly rather than sparingly. For example, if you regularly interview or profile people in your industry, then using a selfie image can be an authentic way of promoting the item, rather than a polished banner with a corporate-style portrait. The LinkedIn audience values honesty and will react faster to authentic items rather than well-engineered pieces. 252 7 From TikTok to Twitter: Social Media Communication <?page no="253"?> Twitter depends very much on engagement, and it takes a long time to build up an audience. Would you agree? Martin · Absolutely. While posting regularly on LinkedIn can bring on all sorts of engagements that can influence exposure, Twitter doesn't get the same traction when being used as a broadcast channel. Engagement feeds Twitter growth. That means, at the minimum, tagging other relevant parties and connecting posts to a particular hashtag. But to really drive growth on Twitter, it means, on the one side, making engaging posts that invite interactions, and on the other side, making relevant comments on other people's tweets. By interacting with streams with more influence and higher followers, you can raise your channel's exposure. Starting on Twitter is hard and building a following takes time and effort. There are no shortcuts and quick ways to get there. How else is Twitter different from LinkedIn? Martin · LinkedIn is based on job titles, companies and industries, while Twitter is about individuals. Your Twitter community can be based on the type of followers. It depends on where you find your target audience. Does it make sense for startups to use it as a channel? Martin · Yes, and it depends on the type of industry the startup is focused on. You need to explore the different social media channels and find the place where your audience is active. Your top LinkedIn tips? Martin · Very simple: Be consistent. Be honest. Be relevant. The content powers the platform, so by following these three simple guidelines, you will produce content that your audience will react to and broaden your exposure. 253 7.2 How to Be Successful on LinkedIn <?page no="254"?> 7.3 How to Be Successful on Twitter Max Mundhenke Associate Digital Strategy at Brunswick Group One constant in your life is social media. The topic is developing faster than literature can keep up. You worked for startups yourself, then freelanced, now you are a digital consultant at one of the most renowned communication agencies in the world, advising C-level management on how to position themselves using social media. How do you stay up to date? Max · In fact, social media is not a subject you can learn once and then use all the time. In my opinion, two areas make up social media. One is the daily changing trends and the development of user compositions. To stay up to date here, it really only helps to be an active part of social media and to observe the content situation with an interested eye. The second point is technical: how are the technical possibilities of social media changing? In addition to introducing new features, the emergence of new platforms, the changes in the respective ad managers and the possibilities of targeting are important to know. Also, classic trial and error or reading specialist media can help. In my experience, nothing beats a network of social media professionals with whom you can exchange technical information. Given the rapid pace of development, one person alone can't know everything - but a network certainly can. Would you say that startups have a certain way of going about social media? Anything that strikes you as characteristic? Max · In my opinion, startups initially focus on their founding history and the milestones they have achieved. That's certainly enough for the beginning, but for truly successful communication, a narrative should develop over time. No one wants to see the hundredth post about an investor 254 7 From TikTok to Twitter: Social Media Communication <?page no="255"?> round won. This can be enormously important internally, but is usually quite arbitrary and interchangeable for external audiences. You started blogging early in your career, and you have a large follower base on Twitter with nearly 40,000 followers. What's the secret to Twitter? Max · Time, patience and steady nerves. It takes a while to get an overview of Twitter. Digital communication in social media is not a sprint but rather a marathon. Especially with Twitter, this has become more than visible. The special thing about the platform is its flexibility and versatility. It can take ages before your first tweets find an audience and you have your first 100 followers. In a business context, however, the sheer number of followers is seldom crucial: even if having many followers always looks like success, it is important to set goals as part of a social media strategy and to check these regularly using selected KPIs. The so-called vanity metrics - i.e. reach, the number of followers, interactions - are only helpful to a limited extent: especially for startups, it may be much more relevant to reach very specific stakeholders. Who wants to attract 250 bots that neither buy anything nor invest when, on the contrary, you can also have an opinion leader or your dream investor as a follower? I personally think that Twitter is all about having a conversation, taking a stand, debating over political, socio-cultural or economic topics, and engaging with others. Would you agree? Max · Classic consultant answer: it depends. Twitter is incredibly multi‐ faceted, and depending on which bubble you're in, you can get to know a wide range of interesting people and topics. Nevertheless, the density of politicians and journalists on Twitter is comparatively high, and the platform really calls for active participation. For many journalists, the platform has even become an actual news source. Accordingly, Twitter is particularly interesting for political communication and, of course, especially relevant for anyone who wants to get in touch with stakeholders from politics and the media. Against this background, does it make sense for startups to use Twitter? I often feel that many companies just use it to broadcast their news every few weeks … 255 7.3 How to Be Successful on Twitter <?page no="256"?> Max · Many companies too often misunderstand social media - includ‐ ing startups - as a digital space for press releases. It is impossible to give a general answer as to whether Twitter is worthwhile for individual companies. However, the platform shows that time and actively integrating it into one's own digital strategy can bear fruit - even if it only promotes the perception of a particularly digital-savvy and thus supposedly modern company. First, however, you should be clear about which target group you want to reach within your content strategy. Is this target group on Twitter, or are there perhaps other platforms that are better suited? Using Twitter because you “want to do that too” is bollocks from a strategic perspective. Have you ever experienced a social media firestorm? How do you deal with it professionally? Max · I've been through a few firestorms - personally and professionally. The most important thing is to be prepared for criticism. In my experience, many firestorms only reach unimagined proportions because they catch communicators unprepared and initial reactions are hasty and emotional. So the basic rule is to stay calm, avoid chaos, and maintain clear communication channels. If you have prepared your team for this circumstance using a crisis simulation, they will ideally have a ready-made chain of arguments to address the specific points of conflict. Suppose these points first have to be worked out in an ongoing firestorm. In that case, this means more stress for everyone involved. It increases the probability of wrong decisions and possibly even long-term damage to brand perception. The following applies: free up capacities, push non-business critical issues back and focus on the current problem. In other words, declare crisis mode and communicate it internally. The role of managers and the corporate culture is also important: if a social media manager receives dozens or even hundreds of insults per hour, this will inevitably negatively impact them. Appropriate mental health programmes are still a rarity, and I repeatedly see that good social media managers burn out and leave the company in the context of crises because they are being forgotten on the front line. 256 7 From TikTok to Twitter: Social Media Communication <?page no="257"?> As a consultant, you advise companies on preparing for a crisis. Can you summarise how they should prepare? Max · The first step is to work out the points of criticism that could be voiced about the company and consciously put oneself in the detractors' position. An external consultant can make sense here. It is usually easier for them to play the Devil's advocate and distance themselves from the company's internal views of (communication) processes. The goal should be to maintain or regain the upper hand in your commu‐ nication. There is not one right response to criticism, but there are very real precautions that every company can take. First, it is important to ensure that internal communications are clearly regulated. If there is a critical situation in external communications, it must be clear to everyone who is responsible for what. Crisis communication in social media is the clearest indication of whether a company's information processes are working. I always suggest to my clients to introduce a metaphorical “red phone” - a clearly defined communication structure that must be followed in an emerging firestorm. I could imagine that many communicators are terrified of the day a firestorm hits their company. What is the first thing they should do? Max · Stay calm and sort yourself out. Analyse what is happening here right now, for what reasons it is happening and whether it is businesscritical. And what's the second thing? Max · Crises are not solved alone, but by teamwork. Get the communi‐ cation representatives together and sound out the situation collectively. It is important to obtain different opinions and not make decisions alone. Ideally, if it is a business-critical case, a previously defined crisis plan should be used as a guideline. In this case, a rebuttal document or a response letter is used, which has been elaborately drafted in advance. If this is not possible, it is advisable to bring experienced crisis communicators on board to assess the situation and, if necessary, develop a statement in the shortest possible time. Some startups might feel completely different and even welcome a firestorm to bring media attention. Have you experienced that? Is it a wise thing to do? Max · Never waste a crisis - learn from it to become stronger for the future. Nevertheless, you should not deliberately create crises - especially not those that can cause lasting damage to brand perception. I have yet to hear of a 257 7.3 How to Be Successful on Twitter <?page no="258"?> firestorm from which a company has profited in the long term. Of course, young companies particularly strive for attention in the content tsunami of the internet, but the risk of lasting damage is usually too high. Apart from that, there are plenty of better ways to get the attention of the relevant target group. In your earlier career, you were given carte blanche to do all it takes to increase exposure without any budget. I guess many communicators can relate to that. What are your tips? Max · Keep your eyes open: good content should fit the company; and the best ideas are usually in the company's surroundings. Content managers should be in contact with other departments. Also: a good culture of failure helps more than absolute freedom. People see the viral hits, but not the countless formats you've previously screwed up. Your resilience and superiors' encouragement are more important than an excessive willingness to take chances. Is there a formula for viral content? Max · Among the top 30 most-liked tweets of all time, there are currently four that consist exclusively of emojis. So if we approach the question of a formula quantitatively, it shows us that content is nothing without context. If you want to communicate well, you have to build up your community, get to know it and serve the corresponding expectations. Qualitatively, it makes sense to follow trends and create topics that interest many people. Be it current news, social changes or interesting stories. The art is to put the corresponding events into context with your brand. If there is a formula, thinking outside the box is definitely part of it - but it stands amid countless variables that are also entirely unknown to me. 7.4 How to Be Successful on Instagram and Facebook Hana Wilson PR and Communications Manager for Germany at Tibber 258 7 From TikTok to Twitter: Social Media Communication <?page no="259"?> Social media management varies significantly depending on the size of the company. As someone who started her career in content creation for a startup, you will have an appreciation for the agile environment and - at times - limited capacities. Speaking of, I guess a startup can't be on every platform. How do you know which ones to choose for your business social media strategy? Hana · The key term is the target audience. Ask yourself which social media your target audience will use. A broadsheet newspaper is unlikely to find a great customer base on a teenager-dominated digital medium like TikTok. As a startup, you will likely have to seek out your audience rather than vice versa. The better you know your target audience, the easier your choice of the messaging channel will be. Say your product is associated with electric vehicles; try posting about it in an electric vehicles forum or Facebook group. Focus on the quality of the platform for your business over the quantity of platforms your business is represented in. I'd recommend starting with a maximum of two social media platforms to post on regularly. Choose two that are relevant to your target group, ideally minimising the effort you have to put into reaching your audience. Then, take it from there. Once the content is curated, choosing another medium to test is significantly easier. Instagram originally started as a photo-sharing app, but now the platform offers many other formats, from live broadcasts to reels. Do you have any recommendations? Hana · These extended formats were created due to Instagram mimicking popular social media platforms to stay competitive. For instance, Instagram stories were a reaction to Snapchat or reels to TikTok. As with the chosen medium, the right format for your brand will vary depending on your goal and target audience. That being said, the competition-driven development of Instagram suggests that videos will come to dominate content creation. Putting the messaging format aside, I experienced that content about real people, i.e. content showing real-life events or the faces behind the company, performs reliably well. Connecting the dots, I recommend experimenting with real-life video content around your brand. For instance, brands with hardware products could record snippets of the production process or instruction video. 259 7.4 How to Be Successful on Instagram and Facebook <?page no="260"?> Reach, engagement, conversion - many key figures measure social media success. Which key performance indicators, or KPIs, do you recommend, and how do you measure them? Hana · KPIs should be chosen according to your specific goals. If your goal is to increase awareness of your brand, measure reach. If you're attempting to augment sales, focus on conversion. Once you set the overarching aim, ensure your metrics are appropriate for your target audience. For instance, a funeral director shouldn't measure the success of their social media profile in comments, as those interested in the service are unlikely to engage in such a way. Therefore, a better metric would be impressions (how often users indirectly come across your profile) or click-through rates. For Instagram as well as Facebook, I recommend assessing reach and engagement. Reach is usually based on follower count, web traffic and impressions. As reach is a quantitative measure, examine engagement to understand to what extent the audience interacts with the content. While likes and comments should certainly be noted down, I suggest focussing on click-through rates, i.e. the number of users following the call to action of your post (commonly profile visits). High click-through rates indicate an increase in brand awareness and potential customers. Social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram provide you with the basic analytics, given that you have a business account. For those looking to measure their success further, start with simple tools such as Iconosquare. How do you know when to publish a post? Is there a day or time that works particularly well? Hana · Simply put, you're aiming for the time when your audience is already online. As a startup, it is unlikely you'll be able to leverage people to go online for you. While there is no universally applicable time of day, there is a simple hack. Have you ever noticed how multiple fastfood chains commonly cluster in the same location? They tend to have a high overlap in their target audience. In other words, find out when your main (bigger) competitors are posting and jump on the bandwagon. Getting this right will take some experimentation. Make sure you keep track of the results of every post, for example in Excel. Be aware that not all content brings the same results and factor that into evaluating your timing. 260 7 From TikTok to Twitter: Social Media Communication <?page no="261"?> Your top three Instagram and Facebook learnings? Hana · Great question! I'd go with creating engagement, creating atten‐ tion and keeping it simple. Ok, let's talk about engagement first … Hana · You may prepare an ingenious post, but it won't get you far unless the algorithm picks it up. Engagement does not come about from doing nothing. You need to do what you want to get. Follow and tag accounts you hope will follow you and like or comment on your followers' posts. If you're still not reaching your goal, think bigger. At Tibber, we organised a product giveaway titled ‘Tag your Homie for a Homey’. The idea: Our followers could opt into the chance of winning a homey smart home hub by tagging a friend. The result was a significant increase in engagement, traction and followers. Now second on the list: attention. Hana · Our brains are inherently trained to save energy. Habits save energy. We're habituated to scan for relevant information. Take that into account when designing your social media content. For instance, if you're planning a carousel post on Facebook, make sure the first image catches users' attention. I guess “keep it simple” is quite straightforward. Anything to add? Hana · I would just advise you to really stick to the point: one post, one message. The more complex the idea, the more important you break it down into small bites. You named engagement as your number one advice. As you've touched upon the why, could you briefly elaborate on the how? Hana · Simply put, engagement should not be viewed in isolation. Digital media such as Instagram and Facebook function through algorithms. The aim should always be to tickle those algorithms to expose your content to your target audience. Other factors, especially timing, are crucial. For instance, a post on Instagram could generate comments, likes, and even saves, but the post has lost its momentum if they are spread out over time. The key take-home message is that you're trying to kickstart as much engagement as possible within a short time frame immediately after posting. Make it a habit to leverage your community (friends, family, employees, followers, …) to push the content. If appropriate, tag people or businesses as it will encourage them to repost it in their story, thereby increasing your 261 7.4 How to Be Successful on Instagram and Facebook <?page no="262"?> reach. Utilise relevant keywords to increase the posts' visibility, for example by adding popular hashtags (approx. 15 to 20) to the caption. My tip: Do not edit your posts. It sets the engagement score back to zero, reducing the exposure your post will receive. Lastly, remember that engagement also takes place outside the sphere of your digital platform. People engage with interesting topics all day, whether that be at the dining table over dinner or in the car stuck in a traffic jam … Capitalise on that. Give people a reason to talk about you. Create content that stands out and is relevant in the present. If you're posting about an event, don't only post afterwards - announce it. There's a lot of creative freedom in social media, from provocative copies to fun visuals, selling attention-grabbing merchandise or organising challenges. Remember: your most authentic marketers will always be your customers. What companies are you looking at to gain new ideas? Do you have some best practices to share? Hana · We currently see that companies benefit from being bold. That is, dare to stand out. The product itself doesn't need to be highly differentiated from the competition, only the messaging around it. Therefore, I tend to look at companies that have successfully positioned themselves through their outstanding branding. A great example is the Instagram account of the Swedish food company Oatly: serious in their cause, provocative and transparent in their messaging. My prediction is for this trend to continue. If you're looking for inspiration on how to stand out within your industry, you will have to look outside of the field. Try to find companies with similar values and messaging, irrespective of the nature of their product. As for best practices, there is one I live by: social media formats. A social media format is an overarching content concept, a category for which you prepare ideas and posts in advance to draw upon at a later point in time. For instance, at Tibber, we introduced the Tibber Friday Fact, a weekly energyrelated fact. It's a simple strategy to produce regular, fun or interesting content that educates consumers. Social media formats, for example, top tips for your line of work, can easily be prepared in advance, are applicable across markets and simply make your life as a content creator a little bit easier. 262 7 From TikTok to Twitter: Social Media Communication <?page no="263"?> 7.5 Engaging Consumers, Encouraging Interaction - How to Build a B2B Social Media Strategy Bianca Dumschat B2B Social Media Manager at Doctolib Jessica Hashemi Senior Social Media Manager at Checkout.com Bianca, you're a B2B social media manager. How would you define the difference between using social media in an end-to-consumer business? Bianca · Generally, social media means building communities and foster‐ ing relationships with potential clients or people interested in your brand. And that goes for any type of business. However, I do think there are some incremental differences between social media for B2B vs B2C. One, the selling funnel is much longer for B2B products, meaning that the road to the final purchase or conversion is - on average - significantly longer than for B2C products. Platforms like Instagram actually support in-app purchases for B2C companies. Barely anyone will make a direct purchase from a post on social media, especially when we talk about software. In contrast, e-commerce selling chocolate bars or clothes has a much higher chance of conversion. Also, the target group differs. A business-to-business context involves more stakeholders, and the person seeing your posts might not be the 263 7.5 Engaging Consumers, Encouraging Interaction <?page no="264"?> decision maker. And so the target audience will have different needs that you need to cater to. B2B products usually require more explaining, they can be complicated, and the person who will use the product, in the end, might know little to nothing about software or tech. That's why the education stage is so important. You might not be able to convert prospects into customers through social media, but you can educate them through whitepapers, webinars, podcasts, case studies, or events. Let them know what you stand for and build trust. A new term has come up in recent years, which is H2H (human to human) communication. How does that relate to what you do? Bianca · That's a beautiful way to approach social media. It's still real people that use your services or solutions; it's real people who see and engage with your content. Internalising this concept made me realise that becoming personal and authentic on social media is beneficial for both B2B and B2C businesses. People want to see real people, so “humanising” your brand and closing the gap between user and brand goes a long way. Before a social media strategy can answer questions, it must be clear for whom or what it is supposed to do so. Could you explain how you go about defining a social media strategy? Bianca · A social media strategy should always align with the overall company goals and the general marketing strategy. Where is the company headed? What are the long-term goals? What is the company's vision? Con‐ sidering the overall strategy allows social media and marketing managers to translate those goals into specific goals for social media. This prevents us from mindlessly reaching for the stars when there are no stars to collect or they are irrelevant to the company. Creating content for TikTok might only make sense for a brand if the overall company goal is to increase brand awareness for younger folks. Generally speaking, though, all social media strategies revolve around building communities, fostering relationships and making the brand come to life. A company is often a black box. Social media can help make a brand more transparent, give it a face and connect with the target audience. 264 7 From TikTok to Twitter: Social Media Communication <?page no="265"?> What are your main social media goals? Why do you do it? Bianca · I could make this one short and say the main goals of B2B social media marketing are to increase brand awareness and generate leads (that could be further broken down by follower growth, engagement rate or the number of leads). However, I believe there's a lot more to social media than that. And to be frank: other channels do a much better job at lead generation than organic social media. I would say one of the main goals is to make the brand perceptible. We want our brand to be perceived as trustworthy, authentic and valuable. What is being valued inside the company should be reflected externally as well. As a social media manager, you are an external communicator. You are part of the brand's voice. You are shaping the way people think about your brand. Especially in a B2B context, people will not purchase anything directly from your side most of the time. So what can you do instead? Position your brand as a thought leader in a specific niche or industry. Put out content that creates value and resonates with your target audience. If there is a content team that creates such valuable content already, make sure to leverage that. There is no need to reinvent the wheel as a social media manager. Repurpose content and spread that across platforms (only where it makes sense, though). Last but surely not least, one of the main goals is to build relationships. As I mentioned, social media lives off community building and strengthening relationships between people, brands and creators. You have done a pretty amazing job if you can reach your target audience and grab their attention. But if you can also build relationships with them and make them engage with your content, you are a champion. Having goals and strategy is one thing; implementation is another. How do you decide which content and formats to use? Bianca · The funny thing is that I don't get to decide that. The algorithms have a pretty large say in what format to use. And that is probably one of the most challenging tasks as a social media manager. You have to keep up with the trends, new formats and features. There is no way around that, and you will not find a shortcut if you want to grow organically. A few years ago, single picture posts and imagery were the way to go on Instagram and Facebook. In recent years, it has become multi-picture posts (“carousels”). Now we have short video content that rules the platforms with TikTok, reels and YouTube shorts. And most recently, it is not enough to post short video 265 7.5 Engaging Consumers, Encouraging Interaction <?page no="266"?> content. The short video content has to be short. The shorter, the better. And that might change in a few weeks, months, or years when a new format emerges. People want to hear real stories, a trend that has stuck around for more than two years now. Instagram isn't as polished anymore, and people are more likely to not only show the most glamorous snippets of their day-today life. On LinkedIn, people share personal failures and wins that aren't always business-related. It has shifted towards a more personal approach. People were feeling distressed, lonely, or frustrated, especially when the pandemic hit. So they turned to social media. People talk about job losses, share their failures, and share wedding pictures or pictures of their children. Gone are the days when users would only share job ads or the fact that they joined a new company. When it comes to content, I think it should be one of three things: inspiring, educational or entertaining. If it is none of these things, then you might as well want to consider cutting it out. Cut the junk, cut the fluff. It's a pretty simple heuristic that helps categorise content and evaluate whether ideas are better off being buried or if they are worth being executed. In my opinion, it's safe to say that many of my thoughts went straight to the graveyard of ideas just because they didn't meet the criteria mentioned above. Let's turn to formats. Jessica, B2B marketing is often associated with quite “boring” content such as white papers or reports … What do you do differently? Jessica · Yes, you might be marketing to a business, but it is made up of people, so you need to talk to them like humans. This is what Bianca earlier talked about, and I couldn't agree more. I am lucky to have worked in teams that understand this. We always try to amplify our content creatively, whether that's sharing an audio clip of an interview, animating a quote card or creating an interactive carousel quiz. Experimenting with a mix of media types helps keep our feed fresh and our audience engaged. It's also essential to produce social content that keeps your audience on your page. For example, we created a mini-report earlier this year and made a short video to accompany it. Even if someone didn't download 266 7 From TikTok to Twitter: Social Media Communication <?page no="267"?> the report, they gained value from the video. Social shouldn't just be seen as a landing page to lead people to your website. Make sure you're posting valuable and shareable content in its own right. Brand awareness, employer branding, lead generation - social media usually has different goals. Which are most important to you? What do you do to reach them? Jessica · Each social platform has different strengths, so a dedicated platform strategy is crucial. You don't want to just copy and paste each piece of content onto every platform. For example, Instagram is an image and video-centric platform, and it's notoriously hard to share links. So why would you push your company blog on there when the UX is all wrong? Instead, it's a great tool to document your company culture - so use it! A core part of my role is to keep our channels diverse and balanced. Whether it's an employer brand post on Instagram or a lead gen campaign on LinkedIn - I post about different topics each week. Sure, culture posts are fun, but I can't share pics of dogs every day - that's not why people follow us. Diversity of content is vital. You always step out of the boundaries and do things differently. For example, you also do live streaming, YouTube webinars, live panel discussions on LinkedIn etc. How does the audience take to these formats? Jessica · The pandemic changed how people use social media and absorb content. Live streaming once belonged to gamers and YouTubers, but now you have CFOs hosting global keynotes over LinkedIn. Nothing will ever replace in-person events, but live streams are an effective way to reach audiences worldwide without setting up an entire event experience. We've used LinkedIn Live in a few different ways. We've held sessions discussing data from our whitepapers, hosted Pride panels with our culture teams and had fireside chats with some of our merchants. There are a couple of reasons why I think live sessions are so effective. As I mentioned above, social media needs to provide upfront value to your audience without 267 7.5 Engaging Consumers, Encouraging Interaction <?page no="268"?> making them leave the platform - LinkedIn Live does just that. Your attendees don't have to fill in a signup form, they don't have to join via email, and they can reply on your page and get an in-app notification when you're live. It's low friction and low effort - perfect for bringing in an audience. What's also great is real-time engagement between the speakers and viewers. The audience can ask questions during the sessions and get replies live on stream - this makes it a light and conversational experience that can help humanise the brand. You also introduce employee advocacy. How do you get employees to share content on social media continuously? Jessica · Checkout.com now has 2,000 employees across the globe, all with their own networks, stories and voices! We started an unofficial advocacy programme in 2021 on Slack. I use the channel to share the latest posts from our brand accounts to keep people up to date. More and more colleagues started to join, and we found that people like to be involved with what's happening on our social channels. We decided to move to a tool and launch an official programme in March this year. One challenge with employee advocacy is that you want the content to be authentic, but at the same time, you also want to educate employees on what to post and probably what not to post. How do you do that? Do you give them pointers or guidelines? How does that look in practice? Jessica · Our primary goal of the programme is to empower our team to feel comfortable sharing on social media. It's not just to promote the company; we believe that these tools can help everyone build their personal brands and become confident social media users. We've also made it very clear in all our comms that it's optional! We already have some pro influencers on our team who don't need any help, and we have some people who don't have social media and never will. The programme is there for anyone who wants to get involved. The tool we use is great; it allows us to centralise all approved design assets, copy and links in an easy-to-use platform so our teams can confidently share our content. 268 7 From TikTok to Twitter: Social Media Communication <?page no="269"?> In general, you can track many different key figures on social media. Which ones do you use? Are there metrics that you don't find helpful or even misleading? Jessica · Everyone likes the vanity metrics (me included), but you have to look deeper than likes and followers to understand how your pages perform. Engagement is always a good indicator of whether your audience resonates with your content. Are you getting comments? Shares? Clicks? I watch all of our metrics, but engagement rate and impressions are top of my list. You should always aim for your content to reach many people, but most importantly, you want those people to engage with it. Bianca, what are the most common pitfalls startups fall into when it comes to social media? Bianca · That everything needs to be perfect from the beginning. Just start posting content and leverage different channels. And it is ok to fail; that is how you learn. It gets pretty hard out there if you approach social media as a perfectionist. It's about testing, testing and again: testing. See what your audience likes and wants. Don't be afraid to fail. Put in the effort to connect with users on different platforms. Another common pitfall for startups is hiring a social media manager too late. I have seen companies that handed that topic over to the youngest person in the company or the intern because they would know how to do it, right? Someone has to do it, but no one has time. Being a social media manager is a full-time job. Don't get me wrong; an intern can be amazing at social media. However, there is so much more to it than crafting posts and taking photos once in a while. Especially managing the community should be done and monitored by a professional. Many people and customers turn to social media if they have questions or feedback. At some point, there will most likely be negative feedback and/ or questions by followers or customers that need to be answered. Don't miss out on an excellent opportunity to generate awareness through social media early on and hire a professional. 269 7.5 Engaging Consumers, Encouraging Interaction <?page no="270"?> Jessica, what are the three most important success factors for using social media successfully in a B2B context? Jessica · ■ Keep up consistency. You need to provide value to your audience, give them a reason to follow you and check up on your pages. Would you follow a brand that hasn't posted in five weeks? No. So make sure you are posting consistently. ■ Forget about the fear of missing out. You don't have to be on every new social platform. I know a lot of brands are trying to figure out where they should be, but I genuinely believe you don't have to be everywhere to be successful. For us, our strongest channel is LinkedIn - we're B2B, so that makes sense. It's better to double down on the channel where your audience lives rather than wasting loads of resources elsewhere. ■ Data is the key to success. Most social media managers will agree that they know instinctively what works and what doesn't. Unfortunately, instincts and anecdotes aren't strong enough to prove your learnings to the rest of the team. Data gives you leverage when proposing new ideas to your senior leaders; it also helps provide you with visibility on what's working on your channels. I religiously track our monthly performance and share deep dives with the team to help keep everyone aligned and aware of what I'm doing and why. The most important tool that you wouldn't do without under any circumstances? Jessica · Sprout saves my life with my monthly reports! When I started doing social in 2013 on a small budget with limited knowledge, I would manually figure out our growth percentages each month. I'm very grateful for the social tools we have today. 270 7 From TikTok to Twitter: Social Media Communication <?page no="271"?> 7.6 Visuals Matter - Photography and Videography for Social Media Greg Latham Freelance Filmmaker and Videographer You work not only for startups but also for other clients. What do you notice? Do startups tick differently? Greg · Startups can be a great chance to think outside of the box regarding the kind of content you can produce. Larger companies have more rigid brand and content guidelines which can reduce the room you have to manoeuvre creatively. Startups bring a lot of energy and, in my experience, tend to appreciate working with creatives who can be flexible and offer quick turnarounds. Many startups have low communication budgets. Your tips for any‐ one taking the do-it-yourself approach? Greg · Embrace the DIY nature of the tools and the experience you have at your disposal. The technological barrier to creating content has never been lower, so if you're thinking of using a smartphone to create photo or video content, my advice would be to embrace that aesthetic and create content that is authentic and reflects your company's values. For example, if you have employees who are comfortable in front of the camera and happy to record themselves, those pieces are a great way to connect with an audience. If resources are limited, I will avoid trying to emulate the more polished forms of content you see from firms with higher budgets and better resources. Embracing the DIY approach also allows you to take risks and try out different ideas to see what works. If one approach isn't working, try something different. Eventually, you will strike on an approach which fits. 271 7.6 Visuals Matter - Photography and Videography for Social Media <?page no="272"?> Since smartphones have integrated better and better cameras, many people are testing their own capabilities as amateur photographers. What are the biggest mistakes people make? Greg · It's unreal how good smartphones have become. You only need to look at the content produced by the big tech companies alongside the launch of the latest models to see what's achievable. For the most part, smartphones are very intuitive, but a few tricks can help you level up your content. Firstly, while the stock camera apps are perfectly reasonable, it might be worth exploring more specialised photography apps that allow a little more control over the image and produce higher quality RAW images. Secondly, colour. Colour makes a huge difference in how we perceive the quality of images, so learning how to process and edit photos on your device properly can help your images stand out from the crowd. Third, paying attention to light can be crucial. Avoid old tungsten lights wherever possible and embrace large daylight sources such as windows. Founder photos, employee and team photos, product photos, day-today office photos - what do you need and when? Greg · It very much depends on where you are as a startup. Involve your team and try to make creating visual content a habit. If your product isn't ready for the spotlight or your office is bursting at the seams, starting off by snapping a few nicely lit and composed employee portraits is a great first step. If your office is a little dark, try heading outside and finding a clean natural backdrop to take a few casual portraits in front of. What are the biggest mistakes startups make regarding photography and videography? Greg · Finding consistency in the types of visual content you produce can be a big challenge, especially in the early stages of a startup's development. Before creating visual content, it pays to define your brand guidelines and try to sketch out a look or a feeling you would like to evoke with your content. The more detailed, the better, but don't let that stop you. Even the most basic guidelines can be a great first step, and you can always iterate them in the future. 272 7 From TikTok to Twitter: Social Media Communication <?page no="273"?> Let's say a startup is looking for a photographer and videographer. How do you find someone who's a good fit? Do you have a secret recipe there? Greg · If you're based in a large city, it's safe to assume other startups have gone through the same process of trying to find good local creatives. Exploring the kinds of content other startups share on their website and social feeds is a good first step. If you find the content you think could work for your startup, I would recommend reaching out and asking for an introduction. If you're starting from scratch, paying close attention to the types of work the creative most often produces is important: what work is in their portfolio or reel? Do they have experience working in an office environment? Are they familiar with the expectations and workflow of a corporate shoot? What does a good briefing look like to you? Greg · A brief is a fantastic jumping-off point. A brief helps to set expectations and ensures everyone is on common ground at the outset of the project, including the creatives you're speaking to. Budget is always a sensitive matter, but if you feel confident enough in knowing what you can achieve with a certain figure, it is a really useful piece of information to share to help the creative team understand the project's scope. Other valuable points to include in the brief are work references - especially ones which you think might match your budget - key project milestones, delivery deadlines, any special technical requirements as well as where the project outputs will be published or displayed. Many people feel uncomfortable in front of the camera. How do you deal with this? Does it have to be a good match between the photographer and the person being photographed? Greg · Nerves are part and parcel of this kind of work. Thankfully, almost every photographer or video crew will have experience working with people who feel a little anxious in front of the camera. My advice would be to hire someone who primarily works with people who aren't actors. They will have plenty of ways to make employees feel at ease and help guide them through the process. How expensive is a professional photo shoot? And video shoot? Greg · The cost of a shoot very much depends on the client's budget, expectations and overall scope of the project. Thankfully, there are almost 273 7.6 Visuals Matter - Photography and Videography for Social Media <?page no="274"?> always good options at both ends of the price spectrum. The most important thing is to be transparent and clear in the initial conversations with the creative about the kind of content you would like and where you will be using it. If you have the possibility to assist on the day of the shoot itself (e.g. organising internal staff members, ensuring the day runs smoothly from a time-keeping perspective, asking interview questions etc.), that can also help to reduce costs. A word about the video shoot: How much of the material is spon‐ taneous, and how much is scripted beforehand? And what do you recommend? Greg · There's no hard and fast rule here, and the kind of preparation you go through very much depends on what the final output is going to be. Are authenticity and spontaneity important for the video? Or will employees be delving deep into technical matters where a teleprompter might prove useful? My usual approach to office interviews is to provide clients with a rough list of interview questions ahead of time so employees can familiarise themselves with the content ahead of time. Having employees practice their answers with a colleague or in front of the mirror is also a great way for speakers to develop a natural rhythm in their answers and feel more confident. Your basic technology equipment that every startup should get? Greg · An affordable modern camera is a great start; almost any camera model from the last couple of years is likely more than capable of basic photo and video tasks. Sound is an often overlooked aspect of video production, so investing in a lapel microphone will massively increase the production value of your videos. And what would be your most important tool that you wouldn't do without? Greg · The brief, the shot list and my team. 274 7 From TikTok to Twitter: Social Media Communication <?page no="275"?> 8 The Pitfalls and Triumphs of Events This chapter is dedicated to events - both external and internal. For most people, networking is the number one reason to attend an event. Yet, merely attending won't get you far - it takes planning. Even better: Presenting at a conference, scary as it can be, allows you to share your story with a larger audience and boost your company, too. You never know who you may hit it off with. But how do you get accepted as a speaker? Mikko Mäntylä knows the an‐ swer. He is president of Slush, Europe's leading gathering of entrepreneurs, startups and venture capitalists. In chapter 8.1, he explains why the only way to cut through to the audience is by providing value. Chapter 8.2 changes the focus to organising and hosting your own events. Naturally, planning and hosting an event is lots of work, but if done right, it more than pays off. It is a great way to increase brand awareness, build a community and educate and entertain people with a specific topic. Lavinia Eastwood, global event manager at Mollie, and Kristen Jäggi, an event planner with nearly two decades of experience, share some actionable tips and best practices that you can follow for any event (chapter 8.2). Their major lesson: prepare for the best, expect that things will not go as planned, always have a plan B and enjoy the ride. When talking about events, internal gatherings must not be left out. In the past two years, many companies discovered the advantages of remote or hybrid work. However, many have also learned to appreciate the value of their offices even more. Zoom is excellent for having efficient meetings and staying up to date, but it is not the best tool to socialise, network and be creative. So how do you organise great internal events - whether in-person or remote? Simon Kenyon from PayU shares his knowledge in chapter 8.3. He argues that it is essential to know your audience and your goals - and to differentiate. The larger the company grows, the more heterogenous the needs of the employees become. You shouldn't adopt a one-size-fits-all approach. Be it external panel discussions or internal all-hands meetings, they all need good preparation. A moderator helps to guide the audience through the programme and makes sure that all interests and time are well-balanced - both from the active speakers and from the audience. Anna-Lena Kümpel <?page no="276"?> is a professional moderator and moderation trainer and shares her tips for engaging events in chapter 8.4. 8.1 How to Pitch Best to Conferences Mikko Mäntylä President at Slush Let's jump right into it: What annoys you most about working with PR people? Mikko · While working with great PR people is a thrill, and half of Slush's content would never happen without them, I do have a few pet peeves: 1. PR people who single-mindedly optimise for a single KPI and refuse to see the rest of the picture. That KPI is usually eyeballs, and I frequently run into PR people who care neither about who those eyeballs are nor what the impression you leave them with is. That kind of PR work leads to poorly curated and prepared content delivered to an audience that doesn't listen. As a result, everyone loses out, including the speaker. 2. PR people who will make you jump through hoops only to eventually decline you. This is more common with agencies than in-house teams. Sometimes, agencies seem to be completely oblivious to what their clients actually care about, and so they will boil the ocean and ask you every single question they can think of before putting the opportunity in front of their client. It's extremely frustrating to spend hours answering questions only to then be declined for “scheduling reasons” - something that could've been figured out in five minutes. Companies and founders don't realise how poorly this kind of behaviour from their comms agencies reflects on them. 276 8 The Pitfalls and Triumphs of Events <?page no="277"?> 3. PR people or agencies who haven't been given the freedom to do their job, but are driven by hierarchy and fear. That position drives comms people to micromanage irrelevant details, make urgent requests, and chaotically change course. It's not their fault, but collaborating with them is quite painful. Slush is surely one of the world's leading startup events. You've seen most CEOs of Europe's unicorns on stage. When looking back, is there a personal highlight? Mikko · The Slush talk that meant the most to me was with Tony Xu of DoorDash and Miki Kuusi of Wolt. It happened at Slush 2021, a few weeks after DoorDash's record-breaking $8 billion acquisition of Wolt. From 2011 to 2015, before founding Wolt, Miki was the first CEO of Slush. Hosting Tony and Miki on stage together was a very symbolic way to wrap up Slush's first decade. It cemented how, in just ten years, we've been able to build a startup event and ecosystem that can spur a $8 billion success story - all out of a small country of five million people. It also begged the question: what can we do over the next decade? One mistake that startups make is that they want to talk about themselves rather than truly delivering value. Do you have any tips on how to come up with a great topic for a keynote? Mikko · One of Slush's previous CEOs Marianne Vikkula would always say: “No one gives a crap about what you do”. Like it or not, that's true. Companies regularly make the mistake of assuming that the audience at an event will focus intently on whatever they are told. That is not true. However great it would be to tell 1,000s of people about the details of your product - people simply won't react to that. The only way to cut through is by providing value to the audience. For an audience of startup founders and operators, which Slush is, the most valuable thing you can share is lessons from your journey that the audience can apply in their own businesses. If I can save a month when hiring my first product manager by listening to you unpacking your learnings from hiring ten, it's a no-brainer for me. The world is riddled with speakers talking to audiences that aren't listening. Don't be one of them. 277 8.1 How to Pitch Best to Conferences <?page no="278"?> What does the subject line of an email look like so that you open it? Mikko · The best emails ask one simple question with the least amount of context necessary for the recipient to be able to answer that question, and in a way that makes it as easy as possible for them to do so. Once you get that part right, writing good subject lines is easy - just state your question. For example, the most impactful subject line that I've ever written was: “10 min about Slush in Menlo Park Mon/ Tue? ”. It was a cold email that led to locking one of the biggest speakers Slush has ever hosted. And what does the email look like so that you read on? Mikko · On top of what I said above, the best emails adhere to a few rules: ■ The most important information - including the ask - is stated first. Always elaborate afterwards, rather than contextualising upfront. ■ On every level, your writing should be as efficient as possible. Write short paragraphs. Write short sentences. Bullet points are a great way to force brevity. ■ If you're asking for a call with a person who you've never talked to, never ask for more than 20 minutes. If you're doing so in a cold email, make that 15 minutes. Make it easy for the recipient to say yes. Several long slots suggested in the recipient's time zone is easy. A Calendly link is not. What is more important for you: a charismatic speaker or an inno‐ vative story? Or is it impossible to separate the two? Mikko · In Slush's stage programme, we steer clear of hollow keynotes and indistinct panels and solely focus on advice that accelerates the pro‐ gress of early-stage founders. Brutally hands-on, honest like nowhere else. Therefore, we're about function over form. However, my answer would be different if I was curating a programme that was focused on inspiration rather than education. Founders of unicorns, i.e. with more than a billion valuation, are usually much more present on stage. What should early-stage start‐ ups do? Mikko · Definitely not spend more time speaking at conferences. Early on, a startup has one single job: build a product and iterate on it until they find a product-market fit. Any time not spent on that is time wasted. 278 8 The Pitfalls and Triumphs of Events <?page no="279"?> Once a company reaches product-market fit, its task becomes to grow as fast as humanly possible. At that point, carefully selected PR activities - including speaking at events - becomes a valuable part of the mosaic. Since the vast majority of startups haven't reached product-market fit, the vast majority of startups should also not be speaking at events. Let's switch perspectives for a moment. There are hundreds of conferences, meetups or webinars. Some of them are quite commer‐ cial and only offer paid speaking opportunities. How can startups differentiate between trustworthy events and shady ones? Mikko · This question is important because, unfortunately, most startup and tech events are bad. That is especially true of online and hybrid events. Most events end up this way because they either don't build for a clear audience or don't build with that audience in mind. Often both are true. Therefore, I would solely focus on proof points that an event truly knows its audience and cares deeply for it. If an organiser wants to charge you for being on stage, translate that to “our stage programme is about generating revenue, not about providing value for our audience” and refuse the opportunity. Your three tips for successfully pitching a company or a speaker? Mikko · 1. Make it snappy. I really only need to know two things: what this person would be speaking about and what makes them the most qualified person in the world to do so. Your sharing that they were included in the Forbes 30 Under 30 or have a Harvard MBA couldn't be less interesting. 2. Focus on sharing information that I can't find on Google. The first thing I will do when being pitched a speaker is to look them up on LinkedIn and look up the company on Dealroom. Sharing anything that I can find on there is unnecessary. 3. Spend time researching the event you're pitching. At Slush, for example, we are narrowly looking for timeless, broadly applicable nuts-and-bolts company-building advice. If you pitch us a keynote on the future of digital health, we will say no, even if you're a decacorn founder. If you pitch us a dissection of how to run an early-stage customer interview, we might say yes even if you aren't that far down the road. 279 8.1 How to Pitch Best to Conferences <?page no="280"?> 8.2 Plan … Action … Showcase! Organising External Events Lavinia Eastwood Global Event Manager at Mollie Kristen Jäggi Event Planner (various startups) Lavinia, you have produced projects for a range of clients, from private individuals to dating apps and one of the biggest oil and gas corporations in the world. What are your three tips for successful events? Lavinia · Know your goal, know your audience. Hope for the best, and expect the worst. And get your hands dirty. Interesting. Can you explain a bit more? Lavinia · Sure. Let's start with the basics of knowing your goal and your audience: Depending on the length of your event, have you got enough break times and catering facilities built in to keep people fresh, energised and receptive? It seems a small point, but one that is often missed - including at big festivals! Beyond that, always keep your main objective in mind and apply it to each decision you make. Are you trying to build trust with an audience? Curry favour with investors? Showcase your product roadmap? 280 8 The Pitfalls and Triumphs of Events <?page no="281"?> Whatever your objective, keeping it in front of your mind will help you focus in times of chaos. The second is all about managing expectations and uncertainty. We live in a world of positive affirmations and manifesting light and love, but sometimes, the world has other plans for us. Always have a plan B. Make sure you're thinking as far ahead as possible and consider every possible outcome. Walk through the attendee journey, especially if it's in multiple locations. What if it rains? Where will people park? Do you have a plan to get your huge boxes of merchandise up the ski mountain should the early morning snow plough not turn up (based on a true story …)? And lastly: There's no I in in team, startup or events. Proactivity is essential. Instead of saying “I don't know”, say “Let me double-check that”, and instead of saying, “That's not my job”, try to see where your skills can make a difference. Events are chaotic. Startup events are crazier. Be willing to get involved! Kristen, looking back on nearly two decades of experience, what is your most important learning about doing events? Kristen · It's as Lavinia said: no matter how much you plan and go through each detail, something always doesn't go as planned. It's how you handle the technical glitches, the backup plans, and the onsite emergencies that count. Always prepare as best as you can but have a plan for when things go wrong. Make sure that all event staff know who to go to when something happens. Doing events is often seen as a nice to have when the PR department is bored. That's very short-sighted. Why should startups host events? Kristen · Events are a great way to increase brand awareness, partner with others in your community, provide product or service information, or educate people about a specific topic. Events can be an inexpensive way for startups to get their name out. With online technology, the costs are low. Lavinia · I'd like to add another, more philosophical perspective, and that is that humans are sociable creatures by nature. Our species has furthered itself time and again, advancing ourselves through shared knowledge, advice and connections. At the very heart of it, events, for business or pleasure, are about facilitating conversations. That's it. Whether you're producing a tradeshow booth, lunch for 500 on a mountain top or a live-broadcast webinar, your event sets the scene for people to come together and find ways to exchange value. 281 8.2 Plan … Action … Showcase! Organising External Events <?page no="282"?> If we think back to 2020, when COVID struck, everyone was suddenly confined to the four walls of their houses. When all physical events were postponed or cancelled, ways to communicate, connect and engage with each other popped up seemingly from nowhere. Many people consider social contact to be fundamental to their health and happiness, and I'd argue that as an extension of this, as a living, breathing thing, your startup needs social contact, too! Is there a difference in whether the startup is B2B or B2C? Kristen · Yes. B2B events are geared towards selling to other businesses. So, positioning your startup as an industry leader by running business partner events, conferences, lectures, webinars or roundtable breakfasts is a good strategy. For B2C events, you want consumers to buy your products or services, so planning community meetups, product training seminars, oneday events or roadshows works well to draw people to buy. How do you create a strategic events plan around business needs? Where do you start? Lavinia · Start by identifying your top-line goals in conjunction with the markets you operate in. Events can wear many different hats. They allow you to create brand awareness, meet partners that can help further your business, generate sales leads or recruit great new people. Established companies might have one or two specific objectives when attending or hosting events. Startups, on the other hand, need all the help they can get across all aspects of the business. Consider location. Where is your business strongest? Then consider where else you have a good market fit outside of that. It's obviously important to determine where your target markets are and identify your position within those markets, as well as how they behave as a consumer group. If you already have a strong brand presence in London or New York, it's possible to maintain that through sponsorships or locally hosted events. If you're emerging into a new market, attending popular events for your industry and taking low-level sponsorships can be great for generating much-needed brand awareness. It's important to be aware that cracking European markets like Germany, France, or Spain can be difficult without a team that speaks the language and knows the landscape. These markets 282 8 The Pitfalls and Triumphs of Events <?page no="283"?> don't always prefer to operate commercially in English. Providing local language support in all of the markets is always hugely appreciated. Then: There are three general ways you can approach events: hosting, attending or sponsoring. Attending events will give you insight into the quality of attendees and exhibitors on offer, so it can be considered a good way to scope out a new market. This will allow you to construct a business case for any kind of future sponsorship, as well as make some connections with other people there. Sponsorship is a good way to generate or maintain brand awareness through speaking opportunities at events, getting your logo onto tickets and lanyards or being able to include the merchandise in goody bags. These often come with a price tag, but consider working together with a partner to co-brand a booth or taking a lower-tier sponsorship level in markets where you're not as well known. Hosting events can be brilliant for generating word-of-mouth growth, whether it be through inviting the press to a launch of a new product or asking a focus group to join you for an evening to provide feedback before going to market. How do you come up with a convincing concept? Which questions should it answer? Kristen · Creating event personas for each event will give you valuable insight into the concept. I suggest creating three to five different personas. Give each persona a fictional name and even a photo that represents the following: details about the user's education, lifestyle, interests, values, goals, needs, limitations, desires, attitudes, and patterns of behaviour. With that information, you can then form your market position strategy. This includes focusing on your audience's needs by knowing your target market and how you will fulfil their specific needs by attending your event, competitively pricing your events as compared to similar events in your industry and positioning your event as having a specific use or application. For example, what will your participants be able to gain or use that they will learn or experience at your event, even after the event has concluded? 283 8.2 Plan … Action … Showcase! Organising External Events <?page no="284"?> Every external event needs to have a goal - brand awareness, lead generation, recruiting … How do you distinguish good from bad goals? Kristen · Every event should have an objective or several objectives. This is a measurable goal. For instance, one objective could be to increase event registration by 30%. To achieve this, you can look at the previous year's marketing plan, see what worked and what did not, and analyse attendance data from the last events to see any trends or decline reasons. See if you can determine reasons for attendees not registering, such as scheduling conflicts, lack of interest in the topic, cost or budgeting concerns. To develop an objective, start with a verb + noun + description of the change or desired action. You drive creative conceptual ideas through to production, from conventions and trade shows to webinars and podcasts. Which type of event to go with? What are your tips? Lavinia · Again, this depends on your goals; generally, tradeshows bring brand awareness and sales leads, and exclusive dinners strengthen relationships and generate partner leads. Webinar platforms, especially when integrated with Salesforce, can be great for gathering real-time data on attendee engagement and driving sales leads through polling capabilities (e.g. would you like a demo of XYZ? ) There's often an assumption that events are very expensive or their effects are only intangible, but this doesn't need to be the case. People are simple creatures and will do a lot in exchange for free food or merchandise. For a startup, ordering a few pizzas and beers and hosting an evening focus group to get real-time feedback results on your product can provide invaluable insights. Kristen, let's dig a bit deeper. Please tell us a bit more about the different formats that you worked with. What has been your expe‐ rience? What works well, and what doesn't? Kristen · I have worked with in-person, virtual and hybrid events. Each one has its benefits and drawbacks. Here are some examples. ■ Virtual events: Benefits include broader content distribution, increased accessibility and attendance, more manageable event costs and in‐ 284 8 The Pitfalls and Triumphs of Events <?page no="285"?> creased sustainability. Drawbacks include Increased (and different) technical risks, more distractions, and lower engagement among partic‐ ipants. ■ Hybrid events: Benefits include an increased scale and reach, technol‐ ogy-enhanced experience, improved data and analytics, more choices and accessibility. Drawbacks include feelings of exclusivity and compar‐ ison, an unintended compromise between audiences, and higher cost implications. ■ In-person events: Benefits include increased connection, attendee focus, and more information retention. Drawbacks include travel considera‐ tions, physical limitations, potential staffing shortages, attendee senti‐ ment and safety. How do you handle events internally? All-hands meetings? Fireside chats? Q&A sessions? Kristen · For internal events, I always first discuss the goals of the management team or founder. Each type of internal event has a different purpose. All-hands meetings are great for high-level insights as to what each area is working on; with the heads of each team giving a 5 to 10min update on the key goals for the quarter, such as marketing, sales, finance, and HR. Q&A sessions are useful for having an internal meeting around a specific topic. For instance, HR might want to give a short presentation on their onboarding process and hiring goals for the upcoming year. An open Q&A session at the end allows anyone from the team to ask more questions or clarify anything at the end. A fireside chat is an informal dialogue between a speaker and a moderator. The moderator should be great at asking questions and knowing when to push further. This can be highly engaging - but also a disaster if the moderator isn't well versed and comfortable. In the end, it's also very useful if the audience can ask questions. If the founder doesn't want to be blindsided, it's best to collect the questions beforehand. I suggest planning an internal event once a month and changing up the format, especially if your team is working remotely from different countries. This gives people the feeling of being connected. Having many participants surely is important. But how do you measure the success of a good event? Lavinia · Figuring out return on investment means going back to your original goal. If you need to generate leads, then figuring out the total spend 285 8.2 Plan … Action … Showcase! Organising External Events <?page no="286"?> on an event and dividing that by leads gained and sales made will give you the cost per lead or sale and see if that's higher or lower than your average customer acquisition cost. Maybe you needed to increase referral volumes from partners and have seen those levels increase after a particularly swanky event - that's a success! Kristen · Measuring ROI is key, but the number of participants is not the only factor. If you are spending money for an in-person event, then you want as many participants as possible to come. However, if it's a virtual event or small meetup, then having the right people attend is much more important. Having a strategy from the beginning to target your key personas and knowing what they want at an event (i.e. networking, education, etc.) is a high priority over how many people come. When you look back on your career: Are there any events that you are particularly proud of? Why? Kristen · One event I am most proud of was many years back for the 1st minister of Scotland for his “Scotland Now” campaign to attract more interest in architecture. I planned an interactive event with photos of various architecture, a cocktail party and a PR campaign. Walking around my own event with the Prime minister was a surreal experience, one I will never forget. Seeing the smiles on guests' faces is what I live for. Another event I could not attend due to the pandemic was the Web3 Summit in Berlin 2020. I worked on this event for over a year and adapted it to the pandemic by creating personal pods for each attendee, a conveyor belt for food like the Jetsons, and colour-coded masks to easily identify speakers. Although it was cancelled just a month out, I am still proud of all the planning that went into it. There are lots of conference tools for hybrid or remote events. Any tools you can recommend? Kristen · For smaller virtual events, I highly recommend Crowdcast. It enables you to customise your event to add Q&A, multiple speakers on screen and a green room. It's also very inexpensive & easy to use without a technical background. For larger virtual events over 1,000, Hopin is a great platform. You can manage multiple sessions at the same time with the main stage and smaller roundtables. 286 8 The Pitfalls and Triumphs of Events <?page no="287"?> I have also found the ongoing education at the Event Leadership Institute to be extremely helpful in these changing times. During the pandemic, I took courses on virtual meeting management, COVID event protocols, and technical meeting management. Their classes are a great way to increase your knowledge in a self-paced programme. And what would be the most important tool that you would not do without under any circumstances? Kristen · For on-site events, I always have what I call an “oh shit kit”. It's a toolbox I can carry around that has the following items: a black permanent marker, clear tape, duct tape, black electrical tape, scissors, nails, a small hammer, clothespins, aspirin, band-aids, wire, fishing line, and a screwdriver. I wish someone had told me to create this kit. It would have saved me so much time and energy on-site having to run around to find these things to fix a last-minute issue. Lavinia · My phone. And a happy team. 8.3 Setting Tone and Stage for Great Internal Events Simon Kenyon Head of Internal Communications at PayU You are passionate about facilitating the high-level interaction be‐ tween employees and their leaders. Why? Simon · Easy: happy, informed and inspired employees are key to creating a thriving work environment and satisfied customers. 287 8.3 Setting Tone and Stage for Great Internal Events <?page no="288"?> For many startups, all-hands meetings are very important for inter‐ nal communication. What does a successful all-hands meeting look like for you? Simon · There are several perspectives. The first is data. As Peter Drucker reportedly said: “What gets measured gets improved.” Generally, what we measure needs to be aligned to the defined purpose of the event - some sessions might be about informing, others about rousing the troops for a certain action. The level to which we moved the dial around a certain objective determines the success. Next up is anecdotal. I stress this as although it is natural to gravitate to what the leaders or presenters felt about events, it's key to integrate the feedback of our target audiences. Normally, by informally chatting afterwards to a sample of people and posing open questions provides a good insight into the value of the meeting. For most events, there is an element of interaction desired. Here, it's not just the number of questions or comments, but the range that shapes the success. If employees feel the session was beneficial as they learnt, for example, about the “why” behind the “what”, or by understanding what is in it for them, they will be more likely to take part in the next event. For online events, leveraging the data insights provided by the platform - such as Workplace from Meta - will help you determine the success level. Finally, if you stream your event online, don't forget to keep an eye on the number of post-event views. It is a good sign if you know people who missed the live event watch the recording. What is interesting to one is old news to the second, and simply irrelevant to the third. The bigger a startup gets, the more the internal target groups differ, and it becomes more difficult to satisfy the different needs. What do you recommend? Simon · At the point the range of internal groups has become so wide, it's a good moment to run smaller events targeting the needs of individual target audiences. If resources are scarce, try running a poll inviting people to vote on or propose agenda points. Then the all-hands can be built to cater to some of what people need, and therefore overall, there is a better chance of there being something for everyone, and employees feel their voice is being heard. 288 8 The Pitfalls and Triumphs of Events <?page no="289"?> Beyond events, facilitating news for specific groups (such as new joiners) on enterprise social media platforms such as Slack or Workplace enables people to subscribe to content or be notified when new content is added. My assumption is that for some people, there will also be an element of repetition. For internal communications, we need to take solace in the importance of repetition and how it can be used as a tool to reinforce what is important. Another idea to avoid staff being exposed too much to old news is to set up an automated chatbot. A “path” or “journey” can be set up to offer more information depending on the level of existing knowledge or need. In addition to all-hands, many startups have established other, smaller event formats, for example brown bag lunches, fireside chats, Q&A sessions with individual executives … What experience do you have with such formats? What is useful, and what less so? Simon · Overall, I believe smaller events bring a lot of value. Employees can't hide or multi-task if they are in a small group. If the climate is set appropriately at the start to ensure the tone is informal, there will be a good chance more people will open up, share and comment. Rather than having a leader talk to many people, let them talk in smaller groups without a set agenda or slides. Just a conversation. This can be done online or onsite as a breakfast or as a virtual coffee session. Once people know constructive feedback is welcome, the leader can benefit from hearing first-hand unfiltered feedback about what really matters to folks on a working level. And it's great for building trust, too! Fire-side chats are a good way to convey business messages, rather than having leaders talk one after another. The challenge is to ensure employees are not merely observing. Set up, for instance, a Slido event so the audience can feed their most popular questions to the chat moderator. The impact of ensuring the employee group feels heard can never be ignored or underestimated. “We spend too much time in meetings and have too little time to work.” This is an opinion that managers, in particular, like to hold. At the same time, employees complain that they are not sufficiently 289 8.3 Setting Tone and Stage for Great Internal Events <?page no="290"?> well informed about cross-company topics and strategies. How do you assess this tension? Simon · My favourite is for the internal comms team to regularly create and share a very brief two-minute summary of the main news of the previous two weeks. It need only include the headline message and links to more details can be shared. Be sure to ask people for contributions that support the business focus areas. The larger a company becomes, the less all employees can know about everything. At the same time, the desire for absolute transpar‐ ency is high, especially in startups. How do you deal with this? Simon · It's helpful to create and update a well-structured central digital repository that enables employees to inform themselves or be notified when additions to any given page or topic are made. Another tip: Provide core talking points that managers can or must weave into their scheduled team meetings. Many internal communications managers are aware of the employ‐ ees' desire for more interdisciplinary exchange in order to avoid silo thinking. At the same time, it is the task of managers to keep all relevant people informed and to pick them up in time. Can internal corporate communications make a contribution here, and if so, to what extent? Simon · Yes, we can source and share success stories and emphasise the people angle. Internal comms can also facilitate functional knowledge sharing across business segments, online or in the office over lunch. For physical events, orchestrate gallery walks where employees take a tour in small groups and listen to a brief update (no PowerPoint) from a business head with a Q&A. A CEO shapes the corporate culture greatly and is an important role model. At the same time, CEOs are very busy and don't have the time to communicate regularly with all employees. What do you recommend so the CEO doesn't lose touch with the team and remains close? Simon · In short, I recommend CEOs embrace and leverage online platforms. Concretely, this means forming a daily habit of spending a few minutes sharing tweet-like updates on what they are doing. They should block some time in the calendar to go on the global platform and comment or 290 8 The Pitfalls and Triumphs of Events <?page no="291"?> ask questions or recognise successes. In short, the CEOs need to ask online for comments, thoughts, ideas, and solutions, rather than always telling or broadcasting. For companies where employees are back in the office, the CEO needs to have an open-door policy for people to feel comfortable dropping by. Conversely, the most approachable CEOs are the ones that get their own coffee and join staff in the company cantine. A CEO gets involved in an ask-me-anything session. The intention: to be open to questions and to take the needs and criticism of the employees seriously. The problem: The CEO has a hard time getting to the heart of the employee's questions, gets lost in details and avoids critical questions. What do you recommend? Simon · Recommendations include: ■ Set a time limit to the session and agree with the CEO to address as many questions as possible. ■ Include a moderator whose role is to interrupt if the CEO veers off course or goes into too much detail. ■ Include the CEO's leadership team in the panel so they can answer if the question is related to their field. This also makes the session more dynamic by having multiple speakers. ■ If the communication and HR teams are close to the pulse, answers in advance as bullet points to keep the CEO on track. ■ Accept there will also be some degree of critical questions. It's better to embrace them and have them out in the open rather than festering in the (virtual) corridors. Furthermore, critical questions - as long as they are not personal - are often made with good intentions and can lead to improvements. Your mix of channels or formats for good internal communication? Simon · Think about the audience and cater to their needs and preferen‐ ces. For example, if Workplace from Meta is your common global platform, but you know a region uses Microsoft Teams, spend that energy in getting the two integrated so that you as the internal communicator or facilitator can fish where the fish are. In short, a mix of formats is great, with a bias towards live streaming where possible for authenticity, or if not possible, try to ensure there is an 291 8.3 Setting Tone and Stage for Great Internal Events <?page no="292"?> image or a video involving employees - and ideally not always the leadership team. Personally, I am not a fan of email. However, if you feel obliged to use internal email for mass broadcasts, at least ensure the sender is not always generic such as HR or Communications and investigate mail merge so that each recipient is personally addressed. The success of internal events is often difficult to measure. Pure participation numbers are not very meaningful for online events. Your solution? Simon · Think about the level of engagement, the number of questions and the spread of functions who ask. Relate back to the objectives of your event. For instance, if one of them was to explain the new business strategy, ask people anonymously to rate their level of understanding. Or, if you set out for the event to be more of a morale booster, ask the audience - ideally before closing the event - to rate how the event impacted their motivation. 8.4 Moderating Discussions and Talks Professionally Anna-Lena Kümpel Freelance Moderator and Coach You are a moderator and a podcast host, and you also worked as a journalist. Now you also advise startups on how to structure interviews, panel discussions or live events. What are the reasons why startups approach you? Anna-Lena · Most startups reach out because they need a moderator for marketing events - and when they find out I can also help them to moderate their own events or podcasts, they're happy to learn. Another group of organisations reaches out because they need help with their 292 8 The Pitfalls and Triumphs of Events <?page no="293"?> internal meetings or workshops. Often, people are not trained to moderate meetings. Yet they spend a lot of time there - so having better meetings really improves company culture and makes people happier. Let's start with moderating events. Any common mistakes that you observe? Anna-Lena · People often underestimate preparation time and then find themselves stumbling through their moderation. If you're starting your moderation journey, double the estimated preparation time and block it in your calendar. Use the extra time to go through the whole event with someone else to find blind spots and practice your moderation. Practising doesn't mean memorising a moderation word by word. It means memorising the most important points and using your notes when you lose track. You say that interviews are your favourite format for events. Why? Anna-Lena · Interviews are easy to bring somebody's knowledge and personality on stage (or on-air). It takes more than a day to prepare a speech that contains all the information you want to bring to the audience, is entertaining and vivid and has great slides and leaves your audience with that wow-feeling. But most of us aren't professional speakers and the task to prepare this talk quickly drowns in a full schedule, and the speaker delivers way under his or her potential. It only takes an hour maximum of prep-talk and 20 to 30 minutes of structuring to prepare a wow-feeling interview. That's why most interviews are more vivid and easier to follow. Having more interviews on stage is a perfect way to value the time of non-professional speakers and to present an engaging content-piece to your audience. What are your tips for having interesting conversations? Both for the interviewer and the interviewee? Anna-Lena · First: Watch Celeste Headlee's ted talk about “10 Ways to Have Better Conversations”. It's a great inspiration for your interviewer's mindset and techniques. For the interviewer: ■ Find real interest in the interviewee and their topic. ■ Have your audience in mind and connect the dots for them. ■ Have a structure - and be flexible when the interviewee brings up topics in a different order. 293 8.4 Moderating Discussions and Talks Professionally <?page no="294"?> ■ Ask yourself how deep you want to dive into different topics, and make sure not to jump away until you reach the depth you wished for. ■ Don't send out questions to the interviewee in advance. It's better to send out the topics you want to discuss. Some people over-prepare for specific questions, and the conversation gets stiff. ■ Ask different kinds of questions. Closed questions tend to have short answers, accelerating parts of a conversation and making it engaging. You can drop a statement and ask for the interviewee's opinion openly. Or you create a situation and ask how the interviewee would solve it. Want to go deeper? Ask why-questions. For the interviewee: ■ Take your time and think before you speak. It's fine not to answer immediately. Just say that you need to think about your answer for a moment. ■ Relax and let the interviewer lead you through the conversation. ■ If you don't have an answer to a question or can't talk about a specific topic, be direct and open with it. Now let's turn to podcasts. Some startups have their own podcasts - be it for an internal or an external audience. When planning such a podcast series, how should startups start? What questions should they ask themselves? And are there any pitfalls? Anna-Lena · If you start a new podcast with no experience, you should reach out to an expert who will help you to set it up strategically and tech‐ nically. There is way more to podcasts than a good title and a basic concept, e.g. strategic goals, resources, sound design, technical setup, podcast SEO, and so many more decisions to make. It's expensive to start without advice. Who should moderate a podcast? Should startups do it on their own or hire an expert? Anna-Lena · If a founder has the time and resources to moderate a podcast,they should do it. A podcast is a branding tool and it strengthens the startup's brand if people feel like they're getting to know a founder. But if moderation is not on a founder's priority list, it's a better option to find someone else in the team or hire an expert to represent the startup in the podcast. You can also start your podcast with a mentor 294 8 The Pitfalls and Triumphs of Events <?page no="295"?> for moderation by your side to learn how to do good interviews. An underprepared founder with okay-ish interviews doesn't make a good brand ambassador. Put quality before ego. Any tool or technical setup you recommend? Anna-Lena · Good sound is the most important thing for a podcast. I use a Shure MV7 microphone (super easy to use USB mic) and record via Cleanfeed or riverside.fm. The quality here is much better than in Zoom recordings. The more people you have in a meeting, the more challenging it is to keep them engaged. That's why you want to make sure your allhands meetings are effective and to the point. Any tips on how to achieve that? Anna-Lena · 1. Have a moderator who owns the meeting and is empowered to interrupt everyone, including C-level, to help them stay in time. 2. Train to estimate how much time you need for communication. Plan a meeting in advance, estimate the times for every small piece of content and measure how much time you need. Review this after the meeting and repeat it until you get better. This helps to plan meetings more precisely. 3. Kick things out of the meeting. Most meetings are too long because people want to communicate about many things in a too short period of time. 4. Start your meeting with the most relevant things. Sounds easy, but I'm always surprised how many people save the most important things for the end of a meeting. The more a startup grows, the more difficult it is to have a twoway conversation between employees and C-level. Employees are too shy to ask questions openly in front of many people. Some startups try to collect questions anonymously, and the C-level then answers them in an all-hands-meeting. This way, people do not need to be afraid of asking a stupid or critical question. However, this does not lead to an engaging, maybe controversial discussion, but rather to a monologue. Do you have any advice? 295 8.4 Moderating Discussions and Talks Professionally <?page no="296"?> Anna-Lena · Speaking for remote meetings, I recommend doing a live Q&A via chat. It's the moderator's job to watch the chat, ask the questions loudly and have the whole audience in mind and ask further in case the answer is not clear enough. What is the better option: Have an untrained moderator - maybe someone from the employees - or no moderator at all? Anna-Lena · The untrained moderator is the better option. It's a start, and they can be trained easily. Meetings without moderation are more likely to be a mess. You said once that not preparing a moderation is not only disrespect‐ ful, but also expensive. How should speakers or moderators prepare for meetings? Anna-Lena · 1. Know the outcome and output your meeting should create. 2. Set the frame: Every meeting starts with a check-in and ends with a check-out. 3. Plan backwards: What do you need to have in your agenda to create the outcome and output you aim for? 4. Estimate the time you need for every single part of the meeting. 5. Pick your participants carefully: Who is really needed to create the output and outcome? 6. Put outcome and everyone's role in the meeting invitation. 7. Review your meeting: Were the estimated times correct? Was anything missing? Are there challenges you need to overcome? One last word of advice? Anna-Lena · Moderation is a skill - a craft with a great set of tools that you can learn to use. Which tools you use and how exactly you handle them is linked to your personality. So don't be afraid to step up and give your inner moderator a chance to shine and to make events, podcasts and meetings better. 296 8 The Pitfalls and Triumphs of Events <?page no="297"?> 9 Public Affairs & Crisis Communication The particular appeal and challenge of corporate communications lies in the fact that it cannot be completely controlled and predicted. Some of it is intuition, some of it is hard work and discipline, some of it is reputation management, some of it is due to the environment, and finally, there is also luck. Corporate communication can be planned, but it cannot be controlled. Nonetheless, some crises can be avoided or influenced early on by focusing on relationship management and representing interests clearly. Here, we are talking about public affairs, i.e. influencing decision-making processes at the intersection of politics, business and society. Often labelled as “lobbying,” public affairs do not have the best reputation. Christoph Egels, Public Affairs Lead at Flink, explains why these prejudices are not accurate and why startups should also address the topic at an early stage. Despite all the good preparation, even the best plan can be thwarted and perhaps even ruined by an unforeseen event. Startups may find themselves facing negative headlines as a result of a data breach, product error, critical customer reports, unfair business practices, a stupid statement in public or simply because of false claims. Niels Schlesinger, a long-time consultant and expert in crisis communications, describes in chapter 9.2 why many communication crises are homemade and how companies can master such communication challenges. Preparing for a crisis in a theoretical workshop is one thing - experienc‐ ing a crisis is another. Caspar Spinnen, former spokesperson and comms manager at Voi, knows what it means to be under public scrutiny. In chapter 9.3, he tells us what e-scooters can teach us about turning the tide. <?page no="298"?> 9.1 Building Relations and Maintaining Reputations Through Strong Public Affairs Christoph Egels Public Affairs Lead at Flink How would you sum up public affairs (PA) in a few words? Christoph · Public affairs combines almost everything to do with comms, government relations, media communications, issue manage‐ ment, corporate and social responsibility, and strategic communications advice. It has a strong connection to legal and regulatory matters. PA managers aim to influence public policy, build and maintain a strong reputation, and find common ground with public and political stakeholders. When did you decide to work within the field of public affairs? Was there a specific reason? Christoph · I was very keen to work in public affairs in my early days at university. At that point, I was already fascinated by the interplay between political stakeholders at every level and the business side of it. For many startups, the political representation of interests is not relevant. Is this a misjudgement? Christoph · I'd say yes. For many startups, it is not relevant at an early stage. But at the same time, some startups realise way too late that they will be affected by unfavourable future regulations. From my point of view, a dedicated PA manager makes sense for many startups right away, but I understand that businesses want to keep costs low early on. It is okay as long 298 9 Public Affairs & Crisis Communication <?page no="299"?> as the founders themselves, the legal counsel, or the corporate PR manager have this topic on their radar. What qualities does a public affairs manager need to have for a startup? Christoph · They should be keen to learn and adjust to the needs of the company. PA in startups is mostly not about dealing with high-level politicians and meetings in parliament or with ministers, but more about being able to influence the company from the inside. The PA manager needs to understand the national political system, the interplay between politics, media, and the positioning of the company, and foresee possible crises early on. They should also possess many other qualities, such as the ability to steer projects and being a very good networker. In the context of public affairs, the “issue management” is sometimes mentioned. What does this mean? Christoph · It can mean anything. I would say it is usually about finding solutions for different issues and then driving those topics with all their facets and influences across the company as a project manager. Even though the solution might be product-based, you are the one taking care of it because you receive those very specific demands from public stakeholders. Those demands need to be met to stay compliant with regulations or avoid future regulation. That is just one example where you suddenly need to move into a different role for a short while and manage broad issues that could impact the public perception of the company. You worked for different European startups with very different approaches regarding public affairs. Can you elaborate a bit on that? How did they differ? Christoph · One way to work is to jump on every possible topic to set the company apart from its competition, celebrate every achievement, and announce your future plans to win the favour of your stakeholders. The more conventional way is to be very calm and humble in your PA approach, working in the background to ensure that you meet and convince the right stakeholders from your position, but avoid the larger public. 299 9.1 Building Relations and Maintaining Reputations Through Strong Public Affairs <?page no="300"?> Which advantages and disadvantages do you see for both ap‐ proaches? Christoph · That heavily depends on your company, founders, and product. It is really about the needs of the company and the topic you want to address. If your debate is a public one, you should be part of it, but this means you will also be challenged on everything you promise publicly and you need to ensure you deliver. In my opinion, the quiet approach is the better way to succeed, but it only works if you can keep the topic between you and your stakeholder. Many companies think of public affairs as advocacy on a national level. Is that short-sighted? How about public affairs on a local level? Christoph · Public affairs is often seen being involved in lobbying and having breakfast with members of parliament to ensure that legislation is in favour and taxes will stay low for you. But many companies have issues on state and city level. It is short-sighted only to look at the national level, where huge networks of former members of parliament help open doors and influence legislation. On a city level, it is more about networking, following up, and being diligent. Quite often, a startup's topics are so interesting and in vogue that politicians might even reach out to meet the startup's public affairs manager. Town halls are sometimes a bit dreary, and you may end up stuck in an administrative nightmare in which even the best public servants are not able to guide you. But if you have a relevant point to make, the solutions are frequently very hands-on. You were also the first spokesperson of Plattform Shared Mobility, an association of nine private-sector providers of shared mobility in Germany. Can you tell me more about that? Christoph · Founding Plattform Shared Mobility (PSM) was key in the early stages of the e-scooter industry in Germany. The industry was permanently in the public focus and seeking attention from cities and media by making huge promises to the public. So it became crucial to form an industry association that could unite positions, open doors that were previously closed, and ensure that the voice of the industry is heard. As important as it was, it was also hard to mitigate the positions of every single player. The problem is that every company wants to set itself apart from others, but the public doesn't differentiate if it is a scooter from operator A or operator B; it is just a scooter. 300 9 Public Affairs & Crisis Communication <?page no="301"?> In German politics, it is very common that only associations are heard at governmental consultations and not individual companies or even the entire industry on its own. So the approach of forming PSM was welcomed by municipal and national stakeholders, as it allowed them to address their topics to just one association and not every single operator separately. It made their lives easier, but it also put PSM in a difficult position because the association cannot decide and dictate to its members the direction in which the companies should develop their services in cities. What are your key learnings? Christoph · It is extremely difficult to form an association from scratch that early in the history of such a competitive industry. Even if members value the association and its impact, they are still competitors. Today, I would define the scope of PSM much more clearly and not let cities define it by asking for only one point of contact. This also means that the association should not only be the vehicle of its members but also develop positions that can be adopted by every operator and have a long-term agreement. What is your tip for all startups on the topic of public affairs? Christoph · Get experts on board, don't make the newest intern respon‐ sible for public affairs. Don't let any agency just sell you their network without understanding your needs. Set a clear goal on what you want to achieve with your PA work. At the same time, know that it is very difficult to measure PA in the same way you measure sales, since some activities will only pay off in the long run and not show any results after a quarter. In the best case, PA also ensures that some topics will never be a problem when carrying out your business since someone has taken care of it before it reached that point. What is your favourite part about PA work? Christoph · For me, it's the fact that you get engaged with so many different stakeholders within your organisation. You have to understand all parts of the business to ensure you can talk about the company to your external stakeholders. You also need to find common ground with politicians and public servants where you didn't expect to find any at all. Especially in a startup, you can shape the business in a way that is impossible in an older industry. And you can enable other functions to follow their plans and ideas to grow the business after you clear the path for them from the political side. 301 9.1 Building Relations and Maintaining Reputations Through Strong Public Affairs <?page no="302"?> 9.2 Preparing for Pressure - Why Crisis Communication is Highly Relevant Niels Schlesier Managing Director at FGS Global How would you describe crisis communications in a few words? What is the main challenge from your point of view? Niels · Each crisis has its own dynamics, but typically they all involve a mix of the following: high stakes, many unknowns, real-time or at least rapid changes, heightened emotions, and increased scrutiny from stakeholders. Different communication challenges arise depending on the “type” of crisis, e.g. human, financial or operational. Crises can be overwhelming if you haven't faced one before or they hit you unprepared. Hence the most important question is probably whether you've thought about a crisis before it happens, and whether you have a game plan. If you do, an authoritative response can turn into an opportunity. If you do, an authoritative response can turn a crisis into an opportunity. If you don't, you'll be in survival mode as the crisis unfolds. Startups are usually preoccupied with getting the sales numbers right. They focus on growth which is what the investors want to see. Communication in general and crisis communication, in particular, may take a back seat. Do you see particular challenges for startups? Niels · I agree, but I wouldn't put all startups in the same boat. There are many founders who understand the value of a strong reputation beyond its impact on sales. Nevertheless, the idea that “any news is good news” definitely remains a tantalising consideration for early-stage companies. After all, coverage in tier-one media will often get you higher reach at lower cost than advertising. But is this the publicity you want? If you think two steps ahead, you will find this rather short-sighted. While a single, rather 302 9 Public Affairs & Crisis Communication <?page no="303"?> minor issue can create awareness and drive sales, persistent negative news destroy consumer trust and employer appeal, to cite just two reasons. This inevitably impacts growth, either slowly, if consumers start to turn away, or abruptly, if regulators investigate your business. In addition to the growing number of founders who understand the value of reputation, we've also seen a shifting mindset among investors. More and more of them now encourage their portfolio companies to work with external advisors on crisis preparation and response. You have advised many startups - often during their hyper-growth phases. Can you recognise patterns? What do startups do wrong in a crisis? Niels · Disruption and speed are two important success factors in achieving high growth rates. Disruption creates a new market; speed helps you win it. So far, so good. But both come at a price: disruption can create resistance among incumbents or regulators who don't understand a new business model, while speed can affect quality at all levels. I often think of disruption and speed as offence tactics. They're important for scoring goals. But startups in a hyper-growth mode often neglect their defence. It's like a football team that wins every game 5: 3. For many companies, this works well, often for years. But as soon as their “striker” gets injured, e.g. because of regulatory pushback or quality issues, the poor defence becomes a problem. In sports, the saying goes: “Good offence wins games, good defence wins championships.” Since all hypergrowth companies emerge from a period of rapid success, many leaders underestimate the importance of backing their world-class offence with a solid defence. Some examples of this attitude which I've seen more than once are leaders who come across as arrogant by sticking to their growth narrative despite employee protests or regulatory inquiries, or restructurings just before Christmas. You have advised many startups in difficult times. Without disclos‐ ing any secrets, can you give a few examples of crises that you previously dealt with? And what did the startups do in these chal‐ lenging situations? 303 9.2 Preparing for Pressure - Why Crisis Communication is Highly Relevant <?page no="304"?> Niels · Let me share two examples which cover human, financial and operational issues. We advised a company which successfully raised a substantial series B after years of growth. As part of the closing, their auditor asked them to review and upgrade their accounting after a period of rapid growth. Management did as suggested and discovered that a colleague had created a sealed environment within accounting to inflate their sales numbers artificially. This was (a) a financial and potentially legal issue because they had raised funds on a financial basis higher than actual sales, and (b) an emotional issue. After all, the colleague was a long-standing friend of many in the company who had acted under personal distress. While the leadership worked on a practical solution, they turned to us to develop a communications strategy and materials for their investors, employees, media and other stakeholders. Thanks to the support from their investors, their ability to keep almost all employees on board and a purely reactive external communications approach, the company managed to come out of this crisis stronger and continues to grow. In another case, we advised a rapidly growing platform company when a murder took place that was related to a service facilitated through its app. A similar incident had taken place previously on the platform of our client's fiercest competitor. Given the scale of our client's business, it was not a question of whether this could happen on their platform, too, but rather when. Recognising this risk, they prepared for it operationally through security functions in their app and reputational by sketching out different scenarios. In hindsight, this was helpful when the worst did happen, but it wasn't enough. The government forced them to take parts of their services offline while security standards were improved. They also increased oversight of the sector. From a communications perspective, our client voiced its deep regret for the tragedy and afterwards featured security much more prominently in their communications to regain the trust of their users and regulators. After years of rapid growth and a narrative almost entirely focused on scale, competition, and technology, this was a watershed “coming of age” moment for our client. Imagine for a second that you as a communicator are confronted with the fact that the startup has whitewashed its financial numbers. How do you react? Proactive and transparent communication with stakeholders and media or wait and hope that no one will dig deeper? 304 9 Public Affairs & Crisis Communication <?page no="305"?> Niels · As always, the devil's in the details. I would typically start off by asking a series of questions: Who knows about this already? Have customers been harmed? What about investors? Who is responsible? This should give you a first sense of how to deal with the situation. But a first sense isn't quite enough. E.g. in the event of fraud, it's critical to seek legal advice. Based on the initial stocktaking, you should then convene a task force from different company functions, take a holistic view of the situation, and develop a communications approach that aligns with the broader response. Before you have a clear picture of what has happened and a forward-looking game plan, I would only advise communicating proactively if legally required or the risk of a leak is imminent. And even then, communications should be limited to what's required and only become more detailed when you have a full understanding of the issue at hand - and a plan for how to tackle it. I mentioned before that corporations often prepare for all kinds of contingencies, with hierarchical structures in place, shielding themselves from the press. Startups are often sceptical about too much bureaucracy and hierarchy. How can they have lean processes and be prepared at the same time? Niels · I don't think lean processes and preparation are contradictory. Flat hierarchies and lean processes are nearly always great. When confronted with smaller issues, lean processes can drive efficiency because they're being dealt with directly rather than up and down a corporate ladder. And, usually, crisis preparation processes are designed to achieve that exact goal: to break down silos and bureaucracy and create very clear roles and responsibilities to enable swift decision-making and action in a crisis. Above all though, when an issue turns into a high-stakes crisis, being prepared is mission-critical. Failure to do so can undermine a business's license to operate. Therefore, any company, whether you're a startup or a centuryold industrial conglomerate, should map their most important risks and prepare for potential scenarios. This doesn't have to take up a lot of time and it won't change anything when things go well. But it will enable the entire organisation to react more quickly and better if roles are clear and responses have been considered before you're fighting fire. Due to their focus on reputation, this is a natural area for communications teams to lead. Finally, crisis preparation is not merely a matter of having a manual on the shelf; crisis preparation is a matter of practice. Simulating crises is an 305 9.2 Preparing for Pressure - Why Crisis Communication is Highly Relevant <?page no="306"?> important and often fun exercise to make sure the lean processes work in practice. Transparency is a high value in many startups. Usually, CEOs or founders share more details than in more traditional companies. In a crisis situation, do you see limitations as to what should be communicated internally? Niels · Yes, startups cherish transparency and share much more informa‐ tion with more people than traditional corporates. Often, that's driven by the fact that more employees are shareholders. But even when this isn't the case, I understand how transparency helps create a sense of shared ownership, responsibility, and collaboration. As with processes, this is great 99% of the time. In a crisis situation, however, sharing too much information can have adverse effects or even legal implications. It's the time to move from shared docs to encrypted docs or from all-hands meetings to smaller groups. Again, this doesn't change the culture per sé, it is just the right - and often required - thing to do. As someone who has advised corporates on critical issues for many years, I underestimated how important transparency is to some startups as a value in itself. As an in-house PR professional, you sometimes do not have the same standing as an external advisor. Do you have any tips on how internal communications people can have a seat at the table and be valued as an advisor? Niels · Startups are often led by strong, visionary founder personalities. In contrast to large corporates, their influence on the organisation and their impact on the company's success tends to be much bigger. The most impressive in-house communicators in startups I know act as trusted advisors to their founders (or CEOs). This means they share the vision, have an entrepreneurial mindset themselves, deliver on their duties (e.g. pushing the growth narrative), and use their stakeholder interactions to inform strategy. Startup culture - particularly in cities like Berlin and London - is well-known for being more informal than traditional corporate culture, and this is especially true when comparing the two from a comms perspective. What advantages does this more informal approach have in crisis situations? Are there any downsides? 306 9 Public Affairs & Crisis Communication <?page no="307"?> Niels · This very much depends on the type of crisis. But very often crises affect employees and colleagues not only professionally, but also personally. When this is the case, the more informal approach allows leaders to engage with employees more naturally and genuinely. It's a fine line though. A less formal, more empathetic interaction can help create understanding for certain drastic decisions necessary to address a crisis. There are, however, crises which require rigid processes, high levels of confidentiality, careful wording, and many other “formalities”, because failure to play by these implicit or explicit rules can put a company's license to operate at risk or entail legal consequences. Leaders who typically pursue a more informal approach may find it difficult to switch in times of crisis and employees who are accustomed to an informal approach may be unsettled when the tone suddenly changes. That said, apart from purely legal considerations, there is no right or wrong answer. Being too formal when empathy is the order of the day can be as detrimental as being too informal when a more serious approach is needed to create trust in the leadership. Advising the CEO on the right communications approach is thus one of the many important roles of a communicator in times of crisis. Doing this well is a function of gut feeling, experience, and expertise, and an exercise that can help communications professionals establish themselves and demonstrate their value. 9.3 Mastering Corporate PR in Critical Situations - What E- Scooters Can Teach Us Caspar Spinnen Spokesperson and Pressoffice Lead of Fraktion Bünd‐ nis90/ Die Grünen | ex-Voi You are responsible for Corporate PR at Voi. While many startups are very proactive to get into the media, your job is actually quite the contrary. How come? 307 9.3 Mastering Corporate PR in Critical Situations - What E-Scooters Can Teach Us <?page no="308"?> Caspar · Public relations is usually more about generating visibility. Sharing e-scooters, however, is highly visible by default. You can see them on your way to work, to the train station, or when you go to the supermarket. That changes a lot of the dynamics in media relations and especially corporate communication: instead of reading up on something in a paper and then getting interested in the subject matter, it's more often than not the other way around for e-scooters. People are intrigued by the new vehicles they have seen on the street and then turn to media to find answers to some of the questions they might undoubtedly have. And people are very intrigued, that's for sure. There are several hundred articles with the keyword “e-scooter” in Germany every single week - and there's a corresponding amount of media inquiries that reach me every day. When electric scooters were first launched, there were high hopes connected to them. The idea was to have an ecological alternative for the “last mile”. Three years later, e-scooters were not able to meet those expectations. They are carelessly thrown onto the sidewalk or even thrown into rivers. How do you deal with this from a communications perspective? Caspar · This is a very good question and a very common one actually. I believe it is important that we take a step back: what exactly were those hopes connected to e-scooters? Looking at all the funds and infrastructure that we, as a society, devote to automotive individual transport, it seems quite unrealistic that any given alternative would be able to replace that in a window of just three years. Were we really supposed to replace each and every car ride all across Germany with a combined fleet of about 1% of the vehicles? Nobody in their right mind would ever believe that. So, instead, the discussion should rather be about where the road leads us, to make that analogy. There are some good numbers to document that scooters are right on track in that regard, and of course, we are never happy with anybody misplacing our scooters. If you look at these facts in tandem, it helps cool down a hot topic. People who talk about scooters often do it emotionally: they had a hard day and almost stumbled over a scooter on their way back home - now they hate the entire concept. But it's important that we stick to numbers and clear expectations. Everybody I've ever talked to has shown themselves to be very reasonable after all. It's really just about setting the scene. 308 9 Public Affairs & Crisis Communication <?page no="309"?> I assume one other challenge is the question of how to differentiate yourselves from competitors. Any tips you have? Caspar · Inside the industry, there are multiple players following a very similar approach: shared, dockless e-scooters that can be located and booked via the app. Because our value propositions are so similar, it can at times be a bit of a pain to make the differentiation. I mean, even our names - one syllable, mostly four letters, suggesting an idea of fast ecological transport - are very hard to tell apart. In an industry like ours with a lot of inherent media coverage, I'd advise looking at what's available. Take some time to sit down with your favourite data crawler - or simply by hand - and figure out what people think about your product. Do they think it should be safer, more sustainable or more readily available? That's usually a good point of departure. With all that in mind, take a look at what you and your competitors are already doing. In most cases, something already exists that you can expand and build on. For example, if you see a lot of talk on safety-related issues and your company is actually already investing in accident prevention, plus none of the competitors seems to care about the topic all too much, then you know where you might want to be heading. It should make sense of course, and don't just do it as a PR stunt. Nobody believes those anymore these days. Airlines and other companies in public transport or logistics are usually well prepared in case of accidents. Do you have any plans for crisis communication, too? Caspar · I actually have a very precise framework of tasks, actions and work streams in case of crisis. And I firmly believe that everybody in communications should. Your reaction time and information level tell people outside the company a lot about your level of professionality as a business. Stuttering around, acting shady and giving out contradictory statements may impact your reputation and that of your company quite negatively, even if it is just a minor incident. Therefore, it's imperative to get all the info as quickly as possible. For companies to prepare for crises, this means that the PR managers should always take the front row. When shit hits the fan, don't just focus on cleaning it up - get the comms team involved immediately as well. 309 9.3 Mastering Corporate PR in Critical Situations - What E-Scooters Can Teach Us <?page no="310"?> What was the toughest situation you had to master in the past? Any difficult conversations or public firestorms? Caspar · We had launched a Cologne business just one month prior when one of our competitors decided to inquire with a local diving operator about what it would cost to clean the river Rhine of all drowned scooters. They gave a hypothetical number of 500 to make a business case - way too many, and we had close to none down there actually. Ironically, they most probably wanted to do a salvage action for position‐ ing. But then it backfired hard: the diving company named a price and our competitor backed out. Now imagine the story that the divers had at their hands - sharing providers know about 500 scooters in the river, but are too stingy to pay for a salvage action - and they just shared that with the local branch of national television. The ensuing firestorm lasted half a year, from June to November of 2021. During that time I had about a hundred media inquiries, and the story spread all over Germany - every city wanted to know if there were scooters in their rivers as well. I headed and organised multiple press events to help media representatives accompany the ensuing joint salvage action. How do you deal with critical questions from journalists or other people? Caspar · The tricky and complicated questions are especially important to follow up on. Experience shows that there are a lot of misconceptions in the general public about how sharing systems work and what they entail. Not knowing how something functions can be a very frustrating expe‐ rience. It can make you feel shut out and ignored. And it's only natural that it would lead people to take a sceptical and even critical stance. I usually try to get people “back in”, taking the long route starting from the very outskirts of a topic and then all the way around and back to the centre. By getting people in on all the kinks, nooks and crannies of our workings, I equip them with all the tools they need to ask the really tricky questions - and get their honest answers from me. 310 9 Public Affairs & Crisis Communication <?page no="311"?> Usually, experts advise you to comment, because you otherwise cannot explain your position. Would you agree? Or is it sometimes better not to say anything? Caspar · No, they're mostly right. It partly depends on the market situation and your preferred approach to positioning and strategy though: if your competitors are under fire for something you do as well, it might be possible to keep clear of the media crossfire for some time by “ducking out” and reducing active and reactive communication. If your company declines to provide a spoken or written statement on a certain issue, but your competitor does, then it's clear who will be quoted on it. This does not pay off in the long run though. Journalists are smart people and they will remember your company for letting another company take the blame on a sensitive subject. Let's look at more positive things: You said that you are a fan of doing press events. What do these events look like? Is it similar to press conferences? Caspar · Press events are a very special occasion for us, as they allow us to interact with our users, media representatives and other stakeholders in person. Of course, we have more than 1000 employees and a lot is going on behind the scenes. But none of that is very visible to the general public: what they see is mostly just our scooters and a few lines of text in our app. Not knowing the humans behind a business is a new thing of the 21st century, and it can be a bit spooky as well. Press events give me an opportunity to dispel this haunting sensation and give people a chance to hang out together. It's amazing what that does to people: I've seen video journalists get lost in our scooter parcours for hours filming all sorts of angles and reels on our Vois and I've seen ardent haters change their minds in just 20 minutes of safety training. I always thought that press events only work for large corporations. What three tips do you have for communicators to engage with journalists? Caspar · 1. With the ongoing digitisation and especially after COVID, the in-person has gotten a lot more important. When everybody has started getting good at meeting online, giving somebody an occasion for a personal 311 9.3 Mastering Corporate PR in Critical Situations - What E-Scooters Can Teach Us <?page no="312"?> meeting has become a special thing. You should always keep that in mind. 2. Everybody wants to film. Video journalists have had a hard time during COVID and they're up for a good opportunity. Think of how to set your product in motion, you don't always need a huge budget to make that happen. 3. Content is key, your press event isn't just an opportunity for journalists to shoot videos and conduct interviews - you can do the same for your own channels. Most companies have their own websites and social media, where high-level visuals play a key role. And why not send your next press release with some really engaging visuals or even a testimonial video? Your personal communications highlight when looking back at the past year? Caspar · Being the first provider to gain the media's trust after 500 e-scooters were presumably found on the bottom of the river Rhine and consequently led the strategy and communications on all joint salvaging operations. But mostly just making it through this year alive. It was a lot to do, honestly, and I'm glad that we managed to ace it all. 312 9 Public Affairs & Crisis Communication <?page no="313"?> 10 From the Inside Out - Why Good Corporate Communication Starts with the Employees So far, we have talked a lot about external communication. The internal communications side is no less important. Companies growing rapidly and undergoing constant change are particularly dependent on keeping their employees up to date in a transparent manner, communicating changes, explaining the context and background of decisions in an understandable way, and creating a sense of unity. Similar to external communication, there is not only one internal target group. Many managers are unable to assess what should be communicated and what they can assume is known. Conversely, employees sometimes lack the opportunity to ask specific questions and perhaps also express concerns in a protected environment. Internal communication thus becomes a strategic resource that enables dialogue at eye level and helps retain employees. There are several questions asked frequently about internal communica‐ tion: How is internal communication organised at a startup? And why is it needed at all? How are communication objectives set? And once the objectives are clear, how do you develop an overall plan to accomplish them? Joanna Schild from Delivery Hero and Jovana Krcevinac from Glovo explain how to define an internal communications strategy. In their article, the two also discuss challenges and opportunities that can work as a compass when navigating internal communications (chapter 10.1). Jessie Claar from Kry adds to what objectives internal communication managers pursue and which channels and tactics are suitable for what means. She also explains why data are essential for making internal communications successful (chapter 10.2). Internal communication at a startup is challenging - and it becomes even more challenging with expansion into other countries or cities. Instead of one central place to gather, there are suddenly many. The diversity of the workforce increases with each location and each new office. Teams are also working more autonomously and, at the same time, need to be even more aware of the company's goals and strategy. Sarah Maulhardt from GetYourGuide looks at how internal communication can and must be scaled (chapter 10.3). <?page no="314"?> As explained above, one of the core goals of internal communication is creating a sense of cohesion and involving all employees. According to employee comms expert Maria Andersen (ex-Sennder), appreciative communication is an important prerequisite. Essentially, this means moving internal communica‐ tions away from creating content and cascading information to becoming a strategic entity, that enables the work force to create content and steer the conversations in the organisation. She describes how to do this in chapter 10.4. We already touched on crisis communication in chapter 9. However, every change usually affects employees - oftentimes much more than the outside world. Maïwenn Charpentier, internal communications manager at Omio, experienced several change processes in her professional career, including when her own job was made redundant. She knows that startups go through many different phases in a short period of time - be it rapid growth, restructuring, personnel changes at the management level, mergers with other companies or economic crises. Change is the rule and not the exception. This makes communicative support during change processes an ongoing task for those responsible for Communications (chapter 10.5). Similar to external communications, the CEO also has an internal role model function - especially if they are also the founder. CEOs shape the corporate culture more than any other person in the company. They are a source of inspiration and set the direction, so CEOs must also be very present internally. This is not always easy and requires good intuition on the part of the communications manager. Consultant Bettina Hausmann explains what she thinks good leadership communication looks like (chapter 10.6). 10.1 Setting Up Internal Communication to Unite and Inform Employees Jovana Krcevinac Global Internal Communications Project Manager at Glovo 314 10 From the Inside Out - Why Good Corporate Communication Starts with the Employees <?page no="315"?> Joanna Schild Senior Manager Global Internal Communications at Delivery Hero Internal communications (IC) sometimes resides in HR, sometimes in communications or marketing. What advantages and disadvan‐ tages do you see? What would you recommend? And why? Jovana · As a general rule, HR holds a deep understanding of the makeup of its workforce: who employees are, what they think, and what they need. Having internal communications reside in this department facilitates access to this big pool of knowledge. As a result of knowing their internal audiences better, IC can target communication more effectively, have a greater impact on company culture and engagement, and facilitate the alignment between the company's strategy and its employees. On the other hand, internal communications can run the risk of becoming too HR-driven and therefore not relevant or impactful enough for employees from other business units. In contrast, having internal communications within the communications or marketing departments usually gives it access to strategic expertise and tools. Some strengths to be leveraged include brand messaging and content creation skills, segmentation methodology, and performance tracking tech‐ nologies. Using similar strategies to inform and engage with employees can be highly beneficial. On the flip side, having different target audiences - external vs internal stakeholders - implies that communication objectives should differ. Balancing this can be tricky. While external communications usually deals with brand perception, internal communications needs to reinforce transparency and authenticity in their shared messages. In my opinion, it's a matter of understanding the purpose of internal communication in a specific company. This purpose can vary depending on the company and its business maturity, and it evolves over time. I believe internal communications should initially reside with HR while maintaining a close degree of collaboration with communications or marketing. As the startup grows and scales, it might be worth considering moving the IC 315 10.1 Setting Up Internal Communication to Unite and Inform Employees <?page no="316"?> function to a cross-functional team. This would foster holistic perspectives through diverse expertise, spark creative ideas, break down business silos and hierarchy barriers, and ultimately maximise IC's multidimensional impact across the organisation. What is your company's “why” for investing in internal comms? What goals do you pursue? Jovana · Our goals are to keep employees engaged in our culture, invested and informed about our business and aligned with our vision. We believe that employee engagement directly results from strong company culture. Our company culture is deeply rooted in our humble beginnings and values. It supports our vision and guides our decisions and behaviours at all stages. This is why we aim to play a key role in ensuring that employees identify with our culture and embody our values daily. We also strive to inform and educate our internal stakeholders about our business. Understanding how our company and industry operate equips employees with the necessary knowledge to grow and make an impact in the organisation. It also allows them to trust that important information will be shared regularly and transparently and that their voices will be heard. Finally, we seek to engage employees with the company's vision. Creating and maintaining a common sense of direction and purpose allows us to see the bigger picture and work towards the same goals. Please be very specific: What are the three most important reasons why startups should invest in internal communication? Jovana · In my opinion, there are many reasons why startups should invest in internal communications. The first is to build, improve, and maintain employee engagement. Maximise engagement can ensure that communication approaches are appropriate, that employees' voices are omnipresent, and that collaboration is part of the organisation's fabric. Engaged teams feel heard, seen and valued. If they identify with the company and its culture, they will have a sense of purpose in their roles. Crafting and delivering compelling processes, experiences, and stories is essential in keeping teams engaged and connected. As startups typically have to shape their own culture and business narratives over time, internal communication can play a key part in accompanying the company and its employees in this journey. The second is to drive alignment across teams, countries, and the busi‐ ness. As startups grow and expand into different markets, it's sometimes 316 10 From the Inside Out - Why Good Corporate Communication Starts with the Employees <?page no="317"?> difficult to maintain consistency in communication. In the growth stages, there usually comes the point where a lack of structured communication becomes evident, and the founders and leadership team starts realising that information isn't flowing effectively or reaching the right people. Internal communications is vital in shaping and facilitating this alignment process by sharing consistent, relevant and localised messages at all levels of the organisation. They can similarly advise, influence and educate different stakeholders to cascade down (or cascade up) key information to empower their teams and the business in the best ways possible. The third is to foster transparency and build trust consistently. Communi‐ cating proactively, transparently, and regularly with your employees is key, whether the information is being shared upward, downward, or laterally. This is especially true in times of change, conflict, or crisis. When employees know that 1) they will be informed about a change, 2) they will know how they will be affected, and 3) they will be given a platform to be part of the conversation, their trust in the company will grow. Internal communications is fundamental in building this trust by informing employees in a timely and appropriate manner and by creating room for feedback, opinions, and ideas. Joanna, you devise and implement Delivery Hero's global communi‐ cations strategy, manage communications work-streams for internal crisis and reputation topics, produce global campaigns and events, and ensure that the employees hear first. How can internal commu‐ nication add value to the business? And how do you support that with stalwart data? Joanna · Good internal communications can heavily support business success by supporting the employees to understand the strategy and values of the company and how their role feeds into this. It also shows how the company cares about them - by highlighting initiatives and creating trust between employees and the management. I would say that this should be irrespective of the news itself, but influenced by internal comms principles, and the business culture and values, which internal communications supports and embodies. My role is to ensure that internal communications is always authentic, credible, relevant, engaging, committed and inclusive - we set these principles a couple of years ago. 317 10.1 Setting Up Internal Communication to Unite and Inform Employees <?page no="318"?> We should have a big influence on internal reputation, retention and employee engagement. We can also influence, e.g. sign-ups for training, onboarding, and any other part of the employee lifecycle's success. We use both quantitative and qualitative data. Engagement surveys, engagement, reach, click-through rates, attendance to events, sentiment analysis, OKRs, focus groups and ask-me-anything sessions are all examples of what we have in place. We are working towards better data on the business impact, but this means a certain reliance on other teams. An example of this could be: how many whistleblower reports were received as a result of an internal campaign? Data is often misread or misinterpreted: e.g. engagement rates are really high - but it's employees complaining about how bad something is. So engagement without sentiment can sometimes skew insights! It's important to have the right tools and data team or knowledge of how to use this. The Board sometimes sees internal communication as an extended mouthpiece. The job is then to cascade information to the team. How do you deal with this attitude? Joanna · I don't mind that attitude. Internal communications is still an immature function for many organisations, and I think it's a case of education and showing that ROI. I also don't want internal communications to be the main communicators - we should be ensuring that everyone in the organisation feels empowered to communicate well. Our job is to cascade information - but it's not our whole job. And we rely very much on our internal stakeholders to consult us in a timely fashion, or we won't be able to do our job well. It is tricky to manage. Internal comms keeps employees informed, gets people engaged, helps build a company culture, creates a channel for feedback, debate, and discussion and is important to communicate change or crisis. However, you cannot have the cake and eat it, too. Some‐ times, you must decide what is more important: entertaining or in‐ formative? Bottom-up or two-way? Always transparent, proactively communicating weaknesses and problems, or focusing more on motivation and keeping high spirits in difficult times? What are your experiences? 318 10 From the Inside Out - Why Good Corporate Communication Starts with the Employees <?page no="319"?> Jovana · In my opinion, it's important to have an agile mindset and find the right balance between these overarching goals, as it's never entirely an “either-or” decision. It all boils down to assessing the situation at play and determining the best course of action. Sometimes, what is to be communicated will inevitably have to be mainly top-down and informative, such as a liquidity event announcement. Other times, it will be more motivational or uplifting in nature and involve two-way dialogue, such as going through the impact of the current pandemic in the workplace. As a whole, I believe every communication should be as proactive and transparent as possible, but it should always consider the priorities of the moment. In my experience, having well-developed communication playbooks and processes to deal with different situations and audiences can help determine the direction we want our messages to take. Please tell us a bit more about the internal comms strategy. Before coming up with a strategy, I guess you need to align internal com‐ munication and corporate goals. That can be quite a challenge. What experiences have you made so far? Joanna · We have a very clear strategic high-level and long-term roadmap from the business, so in that respect, things are very clear for us. Our chal‐ lenge comes from ad-hoc communications on crisis, M&A and reputation topics, and unplanned stakeholder requests (besides the high-level, longterm roadmap) - resulting in a lot of reactive work. We also have a little (but mighty! ) team for a big company which can have its challenges. This is where our messaging house and support matrix comes into play, but it's still a challenge. A good way to start with a strategy is to look at your company's business strategy and identify where internal communications can support it. Sounds easy, but it's not. Any tips? Jovana · When developing our internal communications strategy, we usually start by looking at our company's OKRs for the year. Having a visual “big picture” overview with key timelines enables us to set our communications priorities and think of the best ways to deliver them. It helps us to create a very high-level communications “masterplan” with a 319 10.1 Setting Up Internal Communication to Unite and Inform Employees <?page no="320"?> roadmap of the different touch points where we can step in to support the business and its direction. Once we have identified our strategic touchpoints, we develop stream‐ lined communications with disseminated messages that are shared through‐ out the organisation. The idea is that employees not only gain awareness of these business goals, but are also able to understand how they can contribute to them in their day-to-day tasks. To achieve this, we need to break down these long-term goals into more short-term, accessible ones: linking the “bigger picture” with the “smaller picture”. So, for example, if a business goal is to “boost growth opportunities”, we might encourage participation to networking events by mapping them out in company calendars, share inspiring industry trends and stories, communicate to relevant departments key trainings or coaching opportunities, share key corporate milestones and progress in a global newsletter, activate leaders to motivate and give recognition to their teams etc. The possibilities are endless! Delivery Hero is a publicly-traded company, so the markets and regulators have an eye and ear for what your CEO is saying. How does that affect your internal comms strategy? Also, in smaller startups, there is always an inner battle between being fully transparent with all employees on the one hand and being bound by other circumstances. What tips do you have to find the right balance? Joanna · I would say that our CEO (and management team) are particu‐ larly good when discussing the business. Our CEO will answer any questions on any topic - the only questions he doesn't accept are personal attacks, racism or other things not aligned with our values. That being said, we have briefings for all topics, and we ghostwrite and consult with our entity management teams on topics such as M&A. We also work extremely closely with our amazing external communications team, our investor relations team, capital markets and employment law. We have to consider the fairness of shareholders, the risk of leaks, and how anything could affect the market. Every event is recorded due to hybrid work, so we brief each of our speakers. We have to often remove axes from graphs in presentations, data points are always reviewed, and wording is adjusted to be compliant. We also work on a lot of insider projects and are bound by the law as to when we can communicate - even within the internal communications team itself. Whilst these may be restrictive, they also are there for a reason. Not only for the market and investors, but also 320 10 From the Inside Out - Why Good Corporate Communication Starts with the Employees <?page no="321"?> as a responsibility and duty of care to our employees and the success and longevity of the business. Aligning your communication goals to the business goals should leave you in a position that makes it easier to decide which channels you use, what content you create and which actions you take to make your communication meaningful. Yet, there are countless possibilities. How do you decide which channels you use for what and which content you focus on? Jovana · Every company is unique, and so is its communication culture. It will really depend on the DNA of the organisation. At Glovo, we try to consistently adapt and optimise our communications based on what is most relevant for our employees and what the business needs. Admittedly, it's a lot of trial and error processes and learning by doing. As a general rule: for important corporate announcements and news, we tend to share informational content across channels such as email and newsletters communications, infographics, our intranet, weekly global and local all-hands-meetings, Q&A resources, 1: 1 calls etc. For more collabora‐ tive and entertaining communications, we try to engage employees with interactive and creative pieces of content across online messaging platforms, video and web formats, blog articles, podcasts, team events, challenges and more. To maximise relevancy, we also activate various stakeholders to deliver our messages, such as executives, country and team leaders, and ambassadors from various internal community groups. Regardless of the communication, we ensure that the content and delivery method remain inclusive and representative. What tools do you use for internal communication? And what would be the most important tool that you wouldn't do without under any circumstances? Joanna · Honestly, I love a tool if it makes sense and adds value - and I am happy to have a budget to do just that with - we use a few and hybrid work has made the need even stronger. That being said, I think I could do a fair enough job with just G-suite … but not a great one. Jovana · We use various tools depending on which needs we are trying to meet and which audiences we are targeting. When it comes to our team, we rely on collaborative tools such as the G-Suite and a cloud-based project management platform (Monday.com) in order to be able to work together in real-time and maximise productivity. For employees, we use the 321 10.1 Setting Up Internal Communication to Unite and Inform Employees <?page no="322"?> instant messaging platform Slack, Mailchimp for email communications, our internal intranet to centralise all company resources, and Zoom for calls, virtual presentations and events. For interactive online events, we also make use of Kahoot and Slido. We send out surveys via Typeform or Google Forms. To make sure that all our communication is visually consistent with the company's brand guidelines, we use the Adobe creative suite or Canva. If I had to single out the essential tool, in my opinion, it would be Slack, as it can reach all employees (or chosen audiences) instantaneously and allows us to measure post engagements, has integrations with various apps (Gdrive, calendar syncs, polls and quizzes, feedback and recognition systems) and recently introduced video call functionalities. This is highly linked to our company's ways of working: prioritising speed over perfection, reinforcing engagement and collaboration, and optimising digital savviness. Internal communication is often even harder to measure than exter‐ nal communication. Your recipe for success? Jovana · Measuring the impact of internal communications is often complex because we rely on a mix of quantitative and qualitative metrics. This can be challenging because certain metrics are difficult to measure and can be influenced by various organisational factors. Nonetheless, there are some great quick-win solutions to track and measure the impact of internal communications. On the quantitative side, using employee demographics data (gender, age, ethnicity, location, department, seniority level, tenure, etc.) is useful to draw conclusions from their behaviours. Then, measuring how employees interact with the messages they receive allows us to keep optimising our communications. We can measure employee interactions with posts, emails, articles, or events by looking at data such as the number of comments, open and click-through percentage rates, total attendance rates etc. When looking at qualitative data, sending regular surveys to gather descriptive feedback and ratings is essential. Leveraging different focus groups (leaders, local offices, employee-resource groups, etc.) to report back to us about the impact of our initiatives can also provide us with localised bottom-up insights. Then, consolidating both quantitative and qualitative findings together allows us to comprehensively understand the bigger picture and the impact of our communications. In the end, internal communications will be successful not only if we measure the data, but also if we know what we want to achieve with it 322 10 From the Inside Out - Why Good Corporate Communication Starts with the Employees <?page no="323"?> and if an action plan is implemented as a result of the data we collect. What do we want employees to do, say, think, or feel after receiving our communications? How can we then set realistic metrics and KPIs to measure our success? Internal communications is not only about engaging with employees - it can also be very tough. There might be layoffs, cuts in spending, mergers or acquisitions … Any tips for other communicators on how to best address unpleasant issues? Joanna · I always say that our strength in internal communications is that it's employees doing the comms (unless you are reading this as a consultant - sorry! ). By that I mean that our sense of empathy and understanding of how we would want to be communicated to is strong. As is our context for strategic decisions - no matter how difficult. We may see a lot more behind the scenes and be more aware of the restrictions, and sometimes we draft strategies for things that don't end up happening at all, but we understand the employees because we are employees ourselves. It is our responsibility to put our employee hat on as well as our communications hat, and bring that perspective to the workgroups and management team wherever we can. Empathy is vital. This is when we have to refer to our principles: how can we show empathy when we can't control the actual situation - by being authentic, credible, relevant (timely), engaging, committed (strategy) and inclusive. Ensure communication is a two-way street. It's a very obvious one, but we need to provide a voice to all our employees in times of uncertainty. We need to make our leaders visible and understand that while a lot has been building up to the launch of the communications, for employees this is the start of a process and the first time hearing this. It helps to be very clear on what employees should focus on - and what the foundations are that they can be supported by. We also work in a very international environment, and so while tact and subtlety of language are very powerful and important tools, I believe that clarity is key in these sorts of situations. We work as consultants to all leaders in the business on these topics and try wherever we can to deliver bad news in the best way possible. This is particularly difficult when we are looped in very late … if we only have a few days to put something together, we will just be doing our best in a bad situation and putting out fires. 323 10.1 Setting Up Internal Communication to Unite and Inform Employees <?page no="324"?> Three things that are indispensable for internal communication from your point of view? Joanna · 1. Trust and autonomy from our stakeholders and the management team. 2. An empathetic, bright and agile team of comms people. 3. Being made aware of projects at the beginning of the process. Jovana · 1. A well-defined internal communications strategy: Without strategic planning, your efforts will remain mitigated. Setting the trajectory for your communications helps determine what you want to achieve, when you aim to do it, and how you will make it happen. What messages will help you reach your goals? Who will they be communicated to? Which channels will be most relevant and effective? 2. Tailored communications: Generic mass communications don't resonate with all employees and aren't as impactful. Having a good understanding of who your different “employee personas” are is key. By tailoring and diversifying messages and channels accordingly, you can tell relevant and powerful stories that will engage the right audiences in the right ways. 3. Visible forums for dialogue, feedback and ideas: If employees aren't at the centre of everything you do, communications will hit a wall. Creating exchange points such as surveys or Q&A sessions to access consistent, transparent two-way feedback and ideas are essential. You'll be able to understand which of your initiatives are working, and which aren't, and what you can improve to add value to the workplace and to the business. And three things that stand in the way of good internal communica‐ tion? Joanna · The opposite of all of the above. 324 10 From the Inside Out - Why Good Corporate Communication Starts with the Employees <?page no="325"?> Jovana · 1. Communicating too much, or too little: Communicating too much, too often, and across too many channels or via too many stake‐ holders will inevitably lead to communication overload. This is especially true in current remote and hybrid working contexts where information circulates mainly through digital channels. The opposite is also true: communicating scarcely and/ or not in time will lead to a misinformed workforce and create transparency issues. Learning to prioritise what, when and how messages need to be shared and doing it clearly, concisely, and relevantly is the way to go. 2. Lack of leadership buy-in or involvement: It becomes difficult to impact the organisation when leaders aren't active advisors and participants in the definition and implementation of a company's internal communications strategy. Leaders are the bridge between a company's strategic narrative and the voices of employees. This is why it's important to consistently leverage them at all stages of employee communication to reinforce the company's vision and goals, support them in times of change, and build engagement from the ground up. 3. Lack of cross-cultural awareness: In a day and age where diverse and global workforces are increasingly common, failing to be aware of cultural specificities could create communications challenges. If shared messages aren't inclusive for all, some employees will quickly become disengaged. Understanding how to navigate cultural differences and language barriers, stimulating the organisationwide cultural understanding, and communicating inclusively are crucial. What do you wish someone had told you before you started your job in internal communications? Joanna · Every employee has some experience of good and bad commu‐ nications. I take their feedback seriously, but it irks me a little when people tell me how to do my job. I sometimes wish they understood that there is a little more to it! 325 10.1 Setting Up Internal Communication to Unite and Inform Employees <?page no="326"?> 10.2 From Strategy to Channels - Creating Your Internal Communication Recipe Jessie Claar Global Internal Communications Manager You have previously worked in internal communication at other companies, so I would like to talk to you about challenges in internal communication. What do you see as the biggest hurdle in startups? Jessie · The biggest challenge with internal communication in startups is the lack of structure. Often, internal comms doesn't have a dedicated resource, but is instead covered by multiple people or as an additional task for someone from the people team, for example. All communication is adhoc, and there is often no strategy in place, which will become more and more challenging as the company grows and becomes more complex. How would you sum up your role in a few words? Jessie · In my current position at Kry, I manage a team of two internal communications associates, and we drive the global internal comms strat‐ egy. We work towards a complex audience, with employees in 8+ countries working in both the tech and healthcare industries, and we reach them through multiple channels, including our intranet, Slack, company all-hands events, newsletters, internal podcasts, and more. What are the major objectives that you pursue in internal commu‐ nications? Jessie · Our focus is on communicating and embedding the company vision and values in every part of the organisation, breaking down barriers and information silos, and bringing people and information together simply and understandably. We're always focused on finding fun and playful ways to connect and engage, using storytelling to build community and connection. 326 10 From the Inside Out - Why Good Corporate Communication Starts with the Employees <?page no="327"?> From objectives to strategy: What is your overall plan to achieve your objectives? Jessie · I'd say we pursue four paths or pillars. The first one is that we form close collaborative relationships with key stakeholders within the company, including people & culture leaders, C-suite leaders and external communications teams. We ensure that we have solid routines for staying informed on the latest happenings throughout the company. These are twoway relationships: they provide us with information and updates, and we provide them with communication support and advice. The second important pillar are our channels. We strategically manage communication channels and work proactively with content and our edito‐ rial calendar. Third: We establish a solid network within the company, with connections in each part of the organisation. This is how we know what is happening throughout the organisation and connect with the audiences that we are trying to reach. It also provides us with stories to tell! And forth: We measure our impact and evaluate and adjust our strategy as needed. It is important to establish metrics for tracking engagement, understanding, and impact, and measure them regularly - and discuss methods for improvement. We track metrics on individual content (such as articles written for our intranet) and broader metrics such as eNPS scores and ambassadorship metrics via Officevibe. Usually, communication channels change over time as the startup grows and becomes more professional. What experience have you had? Anything you changed for the better? Jessie · We established clear rules for Slack - which channels are to be used for what and who is allowed to post in our #announcements channel. We also implemented naming conventions so that the channels are named consistently. This makes it easier for people to search and find what they need. We also took our all-hands meetings fully remote (this was necessary during COVID and just as important now with a distributed workforce) and upped our game. We plan the schedule strategically and put a lot of time and effort into making them interesting and relevant for our audience. And last but not least: We implemented a new intranet which is a community-led platform. Meanwhile, we have a large team of contributors 327 10.2 From Strategy to Channels - Creating Your Internal Communication Recipe <?page no="328"?> who help build and maintain it so that all information is kept up to date and relevant. The bigger a company gets, the less all employees can know about everything. Where do you draw the line? What criteria do you use to decide what to communicate and how? Jessie · With the new intranet, we have made a lot of information available to everyone, but we look at it as a self-serve source of information. Those who want to know more know where to find it. Those who only want need-to-know information get it via our more direct channels (such as #annoucements on Slack, our all-hands sessions, or via the news channel on our intranet). Please be very specific: What are your three most important internal communication tools, and what do you use them for? Jessie · 1. Officevibe - a weekly survey which goes out to all employees weekly. It measures different metrics each week, is quick and easy to fill in, and gives employees the possibility to give feedback in comments. It is an incredible resource for measuring engagement. 2. Slack - quick communication, instant messaging, surveys. This has been our main communication channel from the early days until now as a company of 1300+ employees. 3. Google meet/ live stream - where the all-hands magic happens! The success of internal communications is often even more difficult to measure than in external communications. How do you solve this? Jessie · Data! We track metrics as described above (eNPS, ambassadorship, alignment) via Officevibe and metrics on individual communication efforts. We also do surveys to gather feedback and measure understanding of specific concepts (such as the company objectives). 328 10 From the Inside Out - Why Good Corporate Communication Starts with the Employees <?page no="329"?> What would be your three most important internal communication lessons learned? Jessie · 1. Internal communication relies on a solid network within a company. If we don't know what's happening in the organisation, how can we communicate it? 2. Relationship and stakeholder management is key, especially with Clevel leaders. 3. Keep it simple, make it fun, and listen to your audience! 10.3 Challenges of Internal Communication in Times of Growth and Internationalisation Sarah Maulhardt Lead Internal Communications at GetYourGuide | ex- Zalando Note: Sarah wrote this article while working for Zalando. You are already a large, publicly-traded company, active in 23 mar‐ kets, with products from more than 4,500 brands and about 16,000 employees. How do you manage to reach so many different people internally? Sarah · Whether a buyer in Berlin, a software developer in Dublin, or a logistics employee in Mönchengladbach, we have many different target groups that need to be reached through various channels. At the same time, we are a relatively small team of eight employees in internal corporate communications. That means we must think very carefully about what and to whom we devote our resources and time. Our goals and strategy help us set the right priorities. A strong network to the various sites and business 329 10.3 Challenges of Internal Communication in Times of Growth and Internationalisation <?page no="330"?> units, as well as the ideal mix of communication channels, are crucial success factors. Our most important communication channel is the social intranet. There, we ensure that everyone sees the most important messages from the Board on strategy topics and other news in their progress. We avoid sending push messages by email to all employees. Instead, we rely on pull messages on the intranet. Otherwise, employees can decide for themselves what interests them and which channels and groups they want to follow. We also send out a newsletter every two weeks for our management group with the most relevant company news and information for managers. The short texts then link to the intranet. Within the intranet, we use various formats such as texts, images, promo banners, video messages, and gamification formats. As additional communication channels, we use an employee magazine published in different languages, various screensavers at different locations, posters, and digital screens in the offices. We also have communications specialists on-site at various locations. They naturally know their target group best and know exactly what interests them and how to reach them. Another culturally enormously important communication channel is our (live) events. We organise three to four all-hand meetings annually, which are broadcast live to all our employees. In our ask-us-anything format, the Executive Board regularly takes the many questions of our workforce. If we want to focus on a specific topic (for example, our sustainability strategy), we use our “zInsights” - panel discussions or presentations with the relevant experts. Our summer parties and company anniversaries are also not to be underestimated. We celebrate the latter as part of our so-called Founding Days - a hybrid event where we reflect on what makes us so successful: our values, vision, and collaboration. In the abundance of our channels and possibilities, one very important channel must not be forgotten: middle management. After all, the immediate supervisors usually have the greatest influence on employees. That's why we do a lot to empower this target group as much as possible, to pass on corporate messages, and establish good communication with their teams. An all-hands with so many people, is that even possible? And how do you include the employees involved in internal communication? Sarah · All employees with a Zalando email address can participate in our all-hands. Before the pandemic, most of our Berlin colleagues came together 330 10 From the Inside Out - Why Good Corporate Communication Starts with the Employees <?page no="331"?> in person in our auditorium at our headquarters. For everyone else, there is a live broadcast. On average, around 4,000 Zalandos tune in. In addition, the event can be viewed at any time after it has ended. Our corporate language is predominantly English, but we translate this event live into German to keep the language barrier as low as possible. In the all-hands meetings, information is not only shared by the management, but all employees have the opportunity to ask their questions to the Executive Board via a survey tool. We also have experts speak on specific topics and involve logistics or other company areas, for example, via video messages. We try to make these events as interactive as possible. Other ways to involve employees in internal communications are the ask-us-anything format and our social intranet. Anyone can create, share, comment, and like the content here. What are the biggest challenges to internal communications when you're growing so much? Sarah · Growth and expansion mean more teams in more locations with different tasks, languages, and communication needs. Questions we're currently heavily grappling with are: How can we reach and serve everyone? Are our current channels, formats, and frequencies still the right ones? How can we keep communications simple while the business becomes increasingly complex? Where and how do we best deploy our resources, and how can we empower the organisation to communicate effectively and efficiently? Another challenge is communicating to promote and reinforce our culture and values that make us unique as a company while highlighting the processes that help us achieve our growth objectives. Of course, we also support the organisation in managing the continuous change that is required as the company grows. What do the changes mean for Zalando? For individual business units and teams? But also for each individual? Apart from that, we are dealing with challenges that probably just about every company has to master at the moment: How do we work in a pandemic, and what does the future of our work look like afterwards? Inclusion and diversity are currently an issue in many companies. How do you take these aspects into account in your communica‐ tions? Sarah · First of all, it is important to understand and acknowledge that the issues of diversity and inclusion (D&I) cannot be solved primarily from a communications perspective. If a company has difficulties in this area, 331 10.3 Challenges of Internal Communication in Times of Growth and Internationalisation <?page no="332"?> it needs a strategy with clear goals, clearly defined measures, and respon‐ sibilities. These should then, of course, be communicated and anchored back into the company. Top-down communication is not enough here. We need dialogue, direct feedback from employees, and sometimes heated discussions to initiate change. The company management should not have blinders on here and should face the challenges courageously and openly and strive for genuine exchange. At Zalando, we are on the right track. In May 2021, we presented our strategy for diversity and inclusion. We want to be the first port of call for fashion, where everyone feels welcome. Inclusion should be considered from the outset in everything we do in order to express the diversity of our employees, managers, customers, and partners. From a communications perspective, we support and guide this process by, among other things, advising and working closely with D&I leaders in the company, raising awareness among middle management, and providing resources and guidelines for equitable and inclusive communications for the entire company. These guidelines help us be more inclusive in our language and visual communication at Zalando. They are designed to improve how we communicate as individuals, as teams, and as a company. Inclusive communication means considering the meaning of words and images and their impact on others. Inclusive language is free of stereotypes, negative expectations, or limitations. By adapting our language, we can more fully include a person or group and encourage them to contribute to the company more confidently. Overall, our goal is to create a consensus within the company. That is the biggest challenge. Communicating with D&I specialists and fans is easy. It's harder when you're talking to a group that may not yet be as convinced about some things - whether it's gender-equitable language or issues related to racism. The goal is not to divide further but to find a common denominator. In short, bridging the gap between D&I teams and advocates and the rest of the company is an important task for internal communications. You brought it up: Gender-equitable and inclusive language is a much-discussed topic - what are your tips? Sarah · Read, practice, try out, discuss, and above all, be open to the topic. There is no one perfect solution, but many different ways to communicate in a language-sensitive way. In any case, it is worth involving employees in this decision and not presenting them with a fait accompli. At Zalando, we posted a survey on the intranet at the beginning of our research to get a 332 10 From the Inside Out - Why Good Corporate Communication Starts with the Employees <?page no="333"?> small picture of the mood. I also found the exchange with other companies particularly valuable. How do others do it? What works well, and what not so well? What do you need to consider when implementing it? What are the competitors doing, and what are our customers demanding? I also believe that it is important to make it clear to everyone that there is no right or wrong in the form of gender-equitable language. It is a learning process for everyone, and the first step is the most important. Start first and then see what needs to be adjusted. And as with so many things: managers always have a role model function. This is where awareness and education should be provided right from the start. What are the three tools that have improved your work? ■ Asana for a good overview of my projects and tasks. ■ Google Jamboard for digital brainstorming with others. ■ Spotify for when your head is smoking and you need a break. What can internal communication learn from external communica‐ tion? Sarah · In my opinion, internal communications can and must learn a lot from video formats like TikTok and Instagram stories. Why do these work so well, especially with the younger generation? What content can also be communicated well internally via this type of format? Because here, too, the time of eternally long texts is over. Employees expect what they are also used to externally: reciprocal communication and exchange and short, easily digestible information. In addition, employ‐ ees naturally use external channels to find out about their own company. This increasingly blurs the boundaries between internal and external communication, employer branding, and marketing - silo thinking is out of place here. So will the two disciplines no longer be separated in the future? Sarah · Yes, I believe that there should be specialists for both internal and external communications. The target groups simply have different needs and requirements, and the communication goals are different. A restructuring, for example, is communicated differently internally than externally. This requires a lot of sensitivity and people who ask the right questions. 333 10.3 Challenges of Internal Communication in Times of Growth and Internationalisation <?page no="334"?> 10.4 Staying Connected - The Influence of Internal Communication on the Company Culture Maria Andersen Internal Communications Manager | ex-Sennder Why should startups deal with internal communication at all? Maria · The days when internal communication was just about sending out a monthly newsletter and publishing a portrait of the CEO are long gone. Internal communication managers are no longer “just” executors and order takers when it comes to communication. Internal communication managers are becoming key strategic players and must be working closely with the leadership as well as acting as the glue that holds the company together as a whole - in other words, Internal communication reps are positioned at the intersection of C-levels and employees of all levels. Has the pandemic increased the importance of internal communica‐ tion? And if so, to what extent? Maria · Yes, indeed. Companies of all sizes and industries have felt what a pandemic does to their employees. As mentioned in the previous section, Internal communication has changed and internal communication managers have never played a more crucial role. It's time to erase old perceptions of internal communication and unlock its full potential. Companies need to rethink how to attract, retain, motivate and nurture the culture of employees based on the new normal where remote working, hybrid working models and new employees are using their voices internally and externally - and if not considered, employees are not sticking around for too long. They will leave for better opportunities. This is where internal communication can be a valuable driver and resource for companies as it helps to understand the new norms and lifestyles of employees. 334 10 From the Inside Out - Why Good Corporate Communication Starts with the Employees <?page no="335"?> Additionally, to adjust to this new reality, it is crucial to put people front and center; Understand them, talk to them and involve them! How can startups develop a corporate culture that invites all employ‐ ees to actively contribute and get involved? Maria · Involve your people and co-create when and where possible! This may be a very idealistic answer, and perhaps not always possible. But if you are a start-up with less than 100 people, a co-created culture from the beginning will lay the foundation for an attractive workplace. Whether it is about a new product feature you want to create or it is a change in the organisational structure. Think workshops, fire-side chats, hackathons and even social events and gatherings. The role of the internal communication manager will then be a split between carrying out the above-mentioned initiatives and support key personalities such as team leads and the C-suites in enthusiastically communicating about the culture you want to build. Thus, the internal communication manager becomes the catalyst for communication and strategy and enables the workforce to “do” internal communication. Is internal communication a case for the HR department or for the communication department? Maria · Every organisation is different. Positioning internal communica‐ tions as part of the HR or communications department depends to some extent on the company's size, maturity and industry - in a startup you may end up doing a bit of both. However, external and internal communication should always be aligned to ensure that the brand message remains consistent and information is shared in a timely manner; what the company does externally should be reflected internally and vice versa. If there is no coherence between internal and external communication, the company brand and identity will seem inconsistent and incoherent, and thus cause mistrust and confusion. Let's talk a little about strategy. How can internal communication support corporate strategy? Maria · A company's strategy should have its starting point with its employees. Instead of asking what we want to achieve as a company, startups should look at what kind of people who work in the company and the context in which the company operates. Once this has been defined and understood, the strategic work can begin: What's our vision, mission and 335 10.4 Staying Connected - The Influence of Internal Communication on the Company Culture <?page no="336"?> values? What's our “why“? In addition, well-articulated and structured leadership communication is key. Without clear guidance from the CEO(s) and immediate supervisors, it will be difficult for the team to implement the strategy. This is where internal communication comes in. Their job is to help management explain and justify the strategy so that everyone can understand. All Hands once a quarter give employees a heads-up from the leadership and at the same time open up for a real-time Q&A. How do you get started? Maria · I recommend starting with a helicopter perspective and first finding out more about the employees as well as our given situation; who's our competitors, what do we want to achieve and how is this possible? It is important to listen to the target group - a company-wide survey to assess the current value of internal communication is a good start. This will give you an overview of what is currently lacking in internal communication and what is going well. Once you have collected this data, it's time to go deep and conduct focus interviews with staff. In these deep dives you can identify notorious pain points, problems and challenges, but also learn where strengths lie. All these are valuable insights for the further communication strategy. It is advisable to document the results. If you have doubts one day, this data can support you. At the end of the research, you should define practicable core statements or guidelines that will guide you in all further steps. What happens next? Maria · The next step is to define the channels and streams of commu‐ nication and how the organisation sounds internally, i.e. its tone of voice and style. Frequency of communication and formats are also part of this. Of course, much depends on what you have found out in the survey and during the interviews, so I will remain very general at this point. The important thing is to come up with a set of objectives and key results to measure whether your actions are successful. These OKRs help you track and monitor your weekly or monthly performance - and adjust your strategic focus as needed. Internal communication is not just about sharing important infor‐ mation. Rather, it's about motivating employees, retaining them and giving them a sense of ‘we’. How can this be achieved? 336 10 From the Inside Out - Why Good Corporate Communication Starts with the Employees <?page no="337"?> Maria · As mentioned earlier, internal communication is no longer just about sharing news and company updates. It is first and foremost a strategic resource and a tool to create a community and a sense of belonging. There is no size fits all, but there are some best practices that I am happy to share. First, find out more about your target group, i.e. your employees. This can be done through surveys, focus interviews and, of course, informal conversations and listening. In this way, you will get a sense of what is the general pain point or challenges for the employees and you'll be able to identify opinion-leaders that can help you. Secondly, try to make use of as many co-created stories, or even better let employees themselves write the next blog post about the project they worked on, or let them share a personal story in a blog-series. In that way, employees become creators, and you as IC manager become the curator of the internal content creation. Third, it is important to be close to staff and actively involve them in communication whenever possible. I listen a lot in my daily work, monitor and measure my communication activities closely; do more of what works well; stop doing what doesn't work; reflect on my findings and document and evaluate all this on a monthly basis. From my point of view, content created by employees themselves is the best way to get them interested and excited about the company. Fourth, it is important to have a central place for important communica‐ tion, a “place of truth”. This is an important basis for ensuring that all employees have the same level of information. Another important, fifth aspect of internal communication is to ensure that employees understand the overall strategy and purpose of the company and how they can make a positive impact on the company. Last: regularly consult with key stakeholders - formally or informally. Are they satisfied, are they missing something? Feedback and a constant exchange are a good way to grasp the current state of the company and to take countermeasures if necessary. It is also easier to find interesting company stories if you are in contact with the company's internal opinion leaders. 337 10.4 Staying Connected - The Influence of Internal Communication on the Company Culture <?page no="338"?> In your opinion, the biggest hurdle to internal communication? Maria · Internal communication is always an offer. The more who take part and make use of the offers, the better for everyone. But internal communication costs time. It is an investment and therefore requires the willingness of all staff and management to participate. It takes energy to make this clear again and again and to hang in there. 10.5 Internal Change and Crisis Communication Maïwenn Charpentier Internal Communications Manager at Omio Let's talk about change communication. How do you define it? Why is this topic so important, especially for startups? Maïwenn · Change communication is more than making employees aware of an internal change. It is also about getting buy-in from the stakeholders involved and often includes a switch in behaviour or mindset. In the case of an acquisition, for example, it is not only about informing employees of the company being acquired, but also making sure they understand the process and adjust their work accordingly. I believe startups are, by definition, more subject to change as they scale. Many of us are taking the risk to join startups because we are passionate about the product or service, and we want to be challenged - as opposed to entering well-established companies where processes are in place. Many internal and external factors affect the life of a startup, and change is a constant in growing companies. Because of this vulnerability, it is vital to get your change communication processes right. 338 10 From the Inside Out - Why Good Corporate Communication Starts with the Employees <?page no="339"?> Change often has negative connotations and is accompanied by fears. How do you address these employee concerns? Maïwenn · Change communication is very important because it is human nature to resist change. Change brings insecurities, feelings of fear, and a perception of instability. In the work environment, when employees do not understand or support a specific change, it creates resistance and fear. These are two ingredients that, when combined, result in a decline in engagement and productivity. I address these concerns by communicating the way I would like to receive the information. Putting ourselves in the shoes of the receiver is the most important and sometimes the hardest part of our job. For me, the first step is listening. I take a lot of time talking to colleagues from across the organisation to understand departmentand people-specific issues. It is important to always engage in two-way communication and carefully listen to and understand our employees' needs and feelings. Exercising empathy is something we often forget outside of our personal relationships, but it is just as important in a professional context. Another crucial step is to provide the right amount of information. Through Q&As and FAQs and thoroughly prepared presentations and communication support, we can give employees the time and space to fully understand and grasp the information. And when it comes to informing employees about the change, I believe the most important message, in any change context, is “what's in it for me? ”. On a team and individual level, we need to understand the benefit for us. I can imagine that decision-makers and communicators are often different people. How do communicators ensure that they find out about changes early on? What if the management does not involve the communications department? Maïwenn · Communicators help and train decision-makers on how to best communicate. I believe decision-makers should communicate with the support of a communications team that they can trust. The process for this varies from company to company, but I believe that informing your communications team well in advance is helpful. For example, you could involve them in project discussions early on or regularly invite them to leadership meetings. The communications team needs 339 10.5 Internal Change and Crisis Communication <?page no="340"?> to know the how and why from decision-makers to support them in putting the messaging across. They know the tools, the best timing, and the employees' needs. Otherwise, the communication can end up being received poorly and considered insensitive. It is not unusual for colleagues and supervisors to welcome and introduce new employees to the rest of the organisation. But what happens when someone resigns? Often, the company remains silent when employees want to leave. Is that a mistake? Maïwenn · I agree with you; there is much more fun in celebrating new joiners and promotions. Many companies see resignations as a failure and don't share it. I mostly disagree. I believe being able to share about employees leaving increases transparency and builds trust in the company and its leadership, which eventually strengthens retention. I like to say that communicating about leavers leads to fewer leavers. The employer branding experience should not stop once a colleague has handed in their resignation. For the employee leaving, it is a way to end their experience on a good note. A happy leaver is another ambassador and might recommend great talent to join the company or come back to the company, as we've seen in the past at Omio. Whatever the circumstances in which this employee is leaving, they are human beings and should be treated with the same respect as any other employee. For the rest of the employees, knowing when colleagues are leaving and being transparent about it creates trust and fosters an open culture. At the same time, it allows a better transition period. However, I believe there is a context in which communicating about leavers could be counterproductive and lead to the opposite outcome. If you have very high attrition rates, receiving five farewell emails weekly can bring negative energy to the teams. I myself have experienced how communication does not work at a company. At that time, the staff actually learned about mass layoffs from the newspaper. What experience have you had with crisis communication? Maïwenn · Crisis communication is something I studied and thought I would not have to deal with until I became very senior. At the time of my studies, we looked at cases such as product recalls or bad press. A crisis can 340 10 From the Inside Out - Why Good Corporate Communication Starts with the Employees <?page no="341"?> be averted by good communication, like in your case. If layoffs had been planned and communicated through a strong change communication plan, the crisis and backlash of bad press would have been averted. During the COVID crisis, I saw a lot of friends being laid off in terrible ways - this comes from companies that forget that their workforce is made up of human beings who can be traumatised by these events. This is the case of a friend of mine who received her contract termination on a Saturday morning via email, a couple of days after her manager discussed a possible promotion with her. In practical terms: When is the right time to communicate change? What is the right format? How do you involve staff in the process? Maïwenn · I don't believe there is a one-size-fits-all approach. It largely depends on the context of the change. Positive change is often communi‐ cated shortly before the change is effective. I believe the right time to communicate is when you are able to give specific answers to the questions your employees are asking. This is also the right time to avoid feelings of fear and instability. I experienced an organisational transformation while working at IKEA, and I was made redundant. The time between the reorganisation announcement and my last day at the company was very long (ten months). Although I understand the reasoning behind that, I felt very unsafe in that long period of “in-between” and ultimately lost my motivation. When it comes to format, I believe in using as many formats as are needed, with a strategic hierarchy, as everyone has different ways of consuming and processing information. Some won't read an email with lots of text, but will be happy to receive an infographic posted on the intranet. Some prefer hearing directly from their manager, while others want to have the CEO's opinion etc. I believe some important changes need to be communicated top-down, involving leadership teams first so they can pass the information to their teams. That makes it more personal, especially if employees have a close and trustful relationship with their direct manager. Omio was heavily affected by the COVID pandemic. You also had to lay people off. Can you disclose how you handled internal comms during these challenging times? Maïwenn · I joined Omio in March 2020. A very interesting date to join a travel company. The COVID crisis hit our business, people, and customers, and none of us were ready for it. Although this was an external crisis, it did 341 10.5 Internal Change and Crisis Communication <?page no="342"?> affect our business considerably - and thus we tried to provide empathy and stability wherever possible and in all decision-making. We implemented the following steps: ■ Reacting quickly: We shut down our offices earlier than many companies in the rest of Europe, which allowed us to learn how to work best during the lockdown. ■ Involving the right stakeholders for quick decisions: We quickly set up an internal COVID task force that met daily and later weekly to assess the situation and make swift decisions. ■ Defining communication principles: it was very important for us (com‐ municators and the management team) to acknowledge we wouldn't be able to predict the future reliably. We were very careful with all our communications to ensure we wouldn't add more uncertainty than there already was. All our communications had to be frequent (so employees were kept up to date), transparent, honest, and concrete (i. e. not communicating something until it was decided or explicitly stating that we didn't know yet). ■ Establishing a trustworthy source of information: We set up weekly COVID updates with our core markets so that we became a reliable source of official information to dispel any rumours or fake news that weren't scientifically proven. We wrote FAQs and created opportunities for employees to talk and ask questions that we could clarify. These steps were also applied when we had to put our people on the German short-term work programme throughout the pandemic. Sadly, we also had to let go of some of our colleagues. Twenty of our employees were made redundant as business plummeted. Naturally, this decision was first communicated to the employees affected through their manager, and given the small number, we were able to provide individual support to each of them. It was then communicated to the overall company, ensuring all employees understood why we had to take this hard decision. We implemented our communication principles and were also able to provide financial and mental support, exercising empathy, which we can all agree was a key component in these enduring times. Ever since I joined, we have done quarterly communications surveys, and all these actions had good results, as 60 to 80% of employees agreed the management team had made good decisions during the pandemic. 342 10 From the Inside Out - Why Good Corporate Communication Starts with the Employees <?page no="343"?> You have already experienced several change processes from a com‐ munication perspective. What are your biggest lessons learned? Maïwenn · ■ Be prepared. Involve relevant stakeholders as soon as possible: your communicators, your HR and legal teams where needed, and representatives from all affected teams. Prepare FAQs, brainstorm all possible questions and remarks you could receive, and be ready to address them in your communications support and material. ■ Listen - before, during and after. Getting to know your audience and involving stakeholders helps you become aware of the situation and needs of employees that you wouldn't have thought of before. Listen closely in Q&A sessions, set up smaller sessions for discussions, and allow all employees to have their say, even anonymously. Listen with empathy and acknowledge that change can be a source of insecurity. Listen after the change has been communicated and see if people change their behaviour. Ask them what they think. Only then can you improve or adjust your communication. ■ Transparency, frequency, and concreteness are key in all your com‐ munications. I have found these principles to help even outside of change communication. At Omio, we measure these three elements separately, and we have found a close correlation between them and the trust in the company and its leadership. ■ If we were to have a fourth principle specifically for leadership, I'd add accountability. Communication varies across cultures. Have you found this also affecting change communication? Maïwenn · I have worked in four different countries and noticed very different communication styles. I have had to adjust my own communica‐ tions style when moving to Sweden from Southern Europe. Italian and Spanish communication is much more direct, and decision-making is made by a few, sometimes coming across as rude. Swedish people appreciate open discussions and democracy much more, with everyone discussing at length. Avoiding conflicts is something to consider when working with different nationalities. At Omio, I frequently rely on our people managers for their 343 10.5 Internal Change and Crisis Communication <?page no="344"?> closeness to their team members. We have employees from more than 30 nations and as many cultures; hence it is harder to find one communications model or structure that will work for everyone. 10.6 The Critical Role of Clear and Transparent Leadership Communication Bettina Hausmann Founder and Director of bhconsult You work at the interface between communication and leadership at the management level. This involves coaching leaders on how to communicate upwards, downwards and sideways. What are the most common challenges leaders face when communicating internally? Bettina · One of the biggest challenges is connecting communications with strategy. Surprisingly, many leaders do not leverage communications to rally their teams for their master plan. According to a study, only 14% of employees have a good understanding of their company's strategy and direction. That says a lot about how strategy is shaped, articulated, and conveyed. Not surprisingly, directors and line managers find it hard to talk strategy. Often, this is down to the curse of complexity. Of course, this has an impact on alignment and results! Another challenge is that many leaders do not really know how to make their communications audience-centric. Yet, whilst there are some universal principles, communication follows different rules depending on whether it's directed up, down, or sideways. Most leaders think that communicating up is the hardest, e.g. getting your message across to the board. It is clearly an intimidating task, but 344 10 From the Inside Out - Why Good Corporate Communication Starts with the Employees <?page no="345"?> in a way, it is also straightforward: work hard on the key message, focus on answering the ‘so what? ’, and show vision and commitment. Then: be bold, be brief, and be gone. Communicating down is far more complex, to the painful surprise of many leaders. When there is so much talk about resignation, i.e. a high percentage of team members considering leaving their workplace in the coming months, leaders need to go beyond giving guidance in their communications. Rather, their role is to re-instil commitment and rally forces. This sounds easier than it is done, particularly since so much leadership communication occurs via virtual channels. Leaders need to work hard on innovating their communication and interaction. This is not only about creating impactful presentations. Maybe even more importantly, leaders need to get better in the subtle art of dialogue, feedback and conflict talks. Whereas many leaders in larger corporations work on these skills, leaders in startups often improvise conversations with direct reports. Last but not least, there is the challenge of ‘communicating sideways’: a real headache for so many leaders I meet. What makes alignment so difficult is that cross-functional leaders and peers have no reason to join in on your proposal - unless you are able to build a relationship and bring the proposal back to what it is all about for both parties and demonstrate what is at stake. Much of it is down to influencing and breaking silos. Smaller startups might find this latter part not so tricky since, luckily, the teams are too small to form silos. However, many startups face rapid growth, which is a good thing in many ways. But this is when the whole silo game starts. In recent years, one of the biggest challenges for companies is the lack of line manager and leadership communication skills. Would you agree? Bettina · I already mentioned how surprising it is to see top leaders struggle with communicating strategy. Now, the farther you go down in the organisation, the less awareness and articulation there is. But we need C-level minus 1, 2, 3 etc. to deliver on the company strategy and shape, communicate their own plans, and get their teams aligned to them! We are in a special period. During the past two years of COVID, companies have kept investing in capacity building for top leaders. However, many 345 10.6 The Critical Role of Clear and Transparent Leadership Communication <?page no="346"?> have neglected training their line managers and top talent, waiting for the crisis to pass and face-to-face training to pick up again. I am glad to see this is coming back. However, I truly believe there should be even more capacity-building, both virtually and face-to-face. Going back to pre-COVID levels might not be enough. Advising and guiding leaders on better communication is a challenge that communication managers struggle with. What are your obser‐ vations and tips? Bettina · Communication coaching goes beyond transferring knowledge. I recommend working with a mix of external and internal coaches. More coaching from within would be desirable, provided that the coaches have the right skillset and seniority. However, behavioural change is not easy to achieve. One often-heard piece of advice is that internal comms professionals need to highlight the importance of internal communications and employee engagement to organisational success. How do you do that? Bettina · My advice to startups: hire strategic and experienced commu‐ nications professionals who are able to sit at the table. My advice to internal communications experts: Never stop stepping up your game. Once you have the trust of the top-level executives, the rest is easy. Bad internal communications come at a huge cost. A couple of years ago, the reputed Holmes report calculated that companies with 100,000 employees have an average loss per company of $62.4 million per year because of inadequate communication to and between employees. Of course, startups have much more direct communications and less red tape. Does that mean the figure on the cost of misunderstanding should not scare them? I do not think so, because contrary to bigger corporations, younger companies often improvise their communications. Experience tells me that this can come with a huge cost as well. What is often found lacking is that leaders do not listen to and act on employee needs. That's not easy feedback to tell your direct supervisor … Bettina · This might be down to company culture. If a leader fails to create a climate of open-mindedness, trust, and psychological safety, the teams won't speak up and perform well either. Patrick Lencioni's The Five 346 10 From the Inside Out - Why Good Corporate Communication Starts with the Employees <?page no="347"?> Dysfunctions of a Team is a great business fable on what happens if a team lacks trust and members do not hold each other accountable. But even in companies in which open communication is encouraged, managers or team members might find it hard to convey feedback and suggestions. I usually tell my clients to plan their conversation with a superior carefully. Take the helicopter view to analyse the situation from the leader's perspective. Then put a strong focus on how to open the con‐ versation. Language and rapport truly matter here. Make the conversation revolve around a business challenge to be resolved, rather than the leader's behaviour. It is actually amazing how much we can achieve when we change the framing and work with powerful questions! Many coaches and experts say that you simply need to get your man‐ agers and leaders as excited and passionate about communications as you are by sharing what good communication looks like. Bettina · Wouldn't it be lovely if it were that simple? Yes, as a leader, you'd better act as a role model. Yet, there is so much more to getting your teams to step up. This is not only about communicating with purpose, passion, and empathy, but also about consistency. Your communication will land if it meets fertile ground. And for that, you need to have appreciative communication and a healthy company culture. So, from your perspective, what is needed to change a company's internal communications culture? Bettina · Commitment from the leadership team, a good plan, and persistence. It is important to keep in mind that a change of culture and mindsets does not happen overnight. Strangely, when a company faces a toxic leader, the culture can remain affected for a while, even after the leader is gone. To work on a plan, you need to dive deep into the existing and desired culture as a first step. You could start with a well-designed, anonymous survey and then continue with focus groups who would also do some visioning work and think through how to get there. I also recommend leaders to be serious about hiring and keeping talent not only on the basis of talent, but also attitude. When everything is going well in the company, internal communi‐ cation is fun. But what happens when things go badly? Have you 347 10.6 The Critical Role of Clear and Transparent Leadership Communication <?page no="348"?> ever had to provide communications support for internal crises or changes? How did you go about it? Bettina · That is a big question. We talked about a health company culture already. Even here, leaders might spot and address emerging conflict soon and encourage others in their teams to do so as well. Actually, most companies are smart enough to bring in external communications experts when there is a big change ahead, e.g. restructuring plans. Even with that help, getting acceptance or rebuilding morale won't be easy. Teams tend to hate change! And then there are those sudden, more external crises. Crisis managers have to place all their efforts into the initial response and relationship with their stakeholders. Unfortunately, in doing so, some forget about informing and aligning their teams. Internal miscommunications in a crisis has serious consequences, not only when the issue is “hot”, but also beyond: you will need to change gears when the storm seems to be over. Rebuilding morale and trust and learning from the crisis takes time and should be a priority. Never, ever forget that your team is your priority stakeholder. The CEO is a role model and shapes the corporate culture. But not all CEOs are born communicators. Some are introverted, others have a hard time admitting mistakes or weaknesses, and others communicate too abstractly or come across as brusque or arrogant. Are you familiar with that? Any tips? Bettina · Of course! I actually find introverts who work hard on their communications far more interesting than some extroverted leaders who find speaking so exciting that they favour packaging over substance. Luckily, as a coach, the more senior your clients are, the easier they are to work with. If you work with a CEO, then you can be pretty sure they will bring the courage and determination to move from good to great. Yet, some can seem cold or arrogant when you review past performances or first meet them. Actually, this is often down to a protection mechanism. After many years, I stay surprised by how many top leaders lack selfconfidence or self-esteem deep within. I love how they tend to truly connect and inspire once they overcome that. I find it hardest when leaders lack emotional intelligence. Luckily, it is possible to work on that as well, but it is hard work. 348 10 From the Inside Out - Why Good Corporate Communication Starts with the Employees <?page no="349"?> Let's imagine one fictitious scenario: A startup falls short of investor expectations and lags behind the goals it has set for itself. The exec‐ utives are inexperienced and communicate little. The CEO is worried about commenting on the poor business figures, doesn't want to upset anyone, and avoids questions. What should communication specialists do in such a situation? Bettina · Communicators are only good if they are strategic, bold and excellent coaches. You will need to exert your best influencing skills to get the leader to see that now is the time to gear up. The big question to ask yourselves is: what is the cost of not communicating? 349 10.6 The Critical Role of Clear and Transparent Leadership Communication <?page no="351"?> Keywords, Names, Companies Ad-hoc PR 108 Adyen 16 Aiven 28 Andersen, Maria 15 Ankorstore 18 Announcement 217 Ask-me-anything Session 291 Attending Events 283 Aust, Oliver 15 Awareness 116, 179 B2B Communication 199 B2B Social Media Communication 263 Babbel 20 Back Market 21 Ballano Göring, Katia 15 Baroni, Chiara 15 Barthel, Julia 16 Benchmarking 145 bhconsult 20 BlaBlaCar 19 Bosscher, Hemmo 16 Brand Communication 61 Briefing 111, 273 Britishvolt 21 Brost, Lucas 16 Brost Claßen 16 Brunswick Group 16, 23 Bueninck, Robert 9 Bündnis90/ Die Grünen 28 Burroughs, Callum 16 Burtyleva, Marina 16 Business Media 233 Buttenberg, Katharina 17 Buzzwords 223 Calendars 135 Campaigns 118 Cease and Desist Order 147 Charpentier, Maïwenn 17 Checkout.com 19 Cherry Ventures 29 Claar, Jessie 17 Click-through Rates 260 Clippings 42 Communicating, down 345 Communicating, sideways 345 Communicating, up 344 Communication Channels, internal 326 Communications Approach, local/ global 98 Communication Teams 89 Company Culture 334 Conferences 43, 276 Consumer Public Relations 161 Conventions 284 Copyright 147 Corporate Communication 34, 51 Corporate Public Relations 114, 307 Crisis Communication 302, 338 Defamatory Statements 148 Delivery Hero 27 Doctolib 18 Dorstewitz, Henning 17 DriveNets 25 Dubois, Sigrid 18 Dumschat, Bianca 18 <?page no="352"?> Earlybird Venture Capital 23, 26 Eastwood, Lavinia 18 Egels, Christoph 18 Einride 20 Embargos 96 Employee Communication 314 Employee Value Proposition 76 Employer Branding 43, 73 Engagement 140, 260 Eo Ipso Communications 15 Evans, Sam 18 Event Personas 283 Events 280, 283f., 287 Events, hybrid 285 Events, in-person 285 Events, internal 285 Events, virtual 284 Facebook 258 Farr, Emma-Victoria 18 Financial Times 28 Fireside Chat 285 firestorm 256 Flink 18 Followers 255 Freedom of Expression 148 Fries, Bettina 19 Fries Consulting 19 Funding Communication 179, 216 García, Itziar 19 Gasmi, Youssef 19 GetYourGuide 24 Going Public 152 Gorillas 22 H2H (human to human) 264 Hashemi, Jessica 19 Hausmann, Bettina 20 Headshots 236 Heed, Malena 20 HelloFresh 17 Herdeanu, Clara 20 Hillemeyer, Christian 20 Hosting Events 282 Hoya, Svenja 20 Hub-and-Spoke-Model 100 Hybrid Events 285 ID Finance 15 In-person Events 285 Insider 16 Instagram 258 Internal Change 338 Internal Communication 314, 326, 334 Internal Events 285 Investor Communication 168 IPO Communication 152, 191 Jäggi, Kristen 21 Job Fairs 141 Joosten, Mats 21 Journalists 223 Journalists, work with 218 Kahoot! 29 Kenyon, Simon 21 Key Messaging 145 Kiesenbauer, Juliane 21 Kilbey, Ben 21 Klarna 30 Krcevinac, Jovana 22 Kristensen, Valentina 22 Kümpel, Anna-Lena 22 Kyle, Andrew 22 352 Keywords, Names, Companies <?page no="353"?> Latham, Greg 23 Launch Communication 187 Leadership 206 Leadership Communication 336 Lendable 29 Levine, Tom 23 Lifestyle Public Relations 152 Likes 250, 260, 269 LimeWire 24 Limitations of PR 116 LinkedIn 249 Mäntylä, Mikko 23 Marcus, Elisheva 23 Marketing 52 Maulhardt, Sarah 24 Media Coverage 141 Media Distribution List 216 Media Law 147, 149 Media Relations 211 Mission 74, 129, 136, 180, 199, 305, 335 Moderation 292 Mollie 18 Morić, Sara 24 Moses, Heather 24 Mundhenke, Max 24 N26 26 Narrative 123 Newsletter 334 Newswire 222 Nexthink 24 Nikolaeva, Arsenia 24 Nutgraf 130 OakNorth 22 Objectives 101 OKR Process 42 Omio 17, 25 Ostermeier, Meike 25 Paid Media 168 PayU 21 Perlin, Martin 25 Peters, Florestan 25 Photo 236 Photography 236, 271 Pitching to Conferences 276 Pitching to Journalists 223 Plan of Action 132 Pleo 26 Podcasts 43 Press Conferences 136 Prexl, Lydia 11 Product Communication 153 Promotional Targets 153 Public Affairs 298 Public relations, agencies 109 Public Relations, announcement 217 Public relations, budget 37 Public Relations, campaigns 140 Public Relations, controlling 143 Public Relations,earned 33, 53, 65 Public Relations, international 95f. Public Relations, lifestyle 152 Public Relations, measuring sucess 142 Public Relations, monitoring success 113 Public Relations, paid 33, 53, 65 Public Relations, photos 236 Public Relations, playbook 164 Public Relations, scientific perspective 32 Public Relations, strategy 113, 127 Public Relations, tactics 113, 132 Purpose 41, 69, 71, 94, 102, 140, 205 353 Keywords, Names, Companies <?page no="354"?> Radke, Boris 25 Reach 260 Reputation 45, 123, 298 Retterath, Andre 26 Reuters 18 Ricci, Giulia 26 Richardson, Luke 26 Romberg, Benjamin 26 Rottinger, Daniel 26 Sandhu, Swaran 27 Sawers, Paul 27 Schild, Joanna 27 Schlesier, Niels 27 Scott, Norval 28 Sennder 15 Shewell, John 28 Slush 23 Social Media, B2B 263 Social Media, campaigns 118 Social Media, formats 258 Social Media, photos and videos 271 Social Media, strategy 243 SoSafe 25 Spendesk 26 Spinnen, Caspar 28 Sponsoring 283 Staffbase 21 Storytelling 119 Strategic Communication 45, 108 Strategic Management 40 Stuttgart Media University 27 Sulku, Anniina 28 SumUp 24 Talk, professionally 292 Taylor, Dan 28 TechCrunch 27 Thornhill, John 28 Thought Leadership 145 Tibber 29 TikTok 264 Tone of Voice 336 Tractable 28 Trade Republic 20 Trade Shows 284 Treyz, Catherine 29 Twitter 254 Unstoppable Finance 17 Unzer 10 VentureBeat 27 Videography 271 Viquez, Alejandro 29 Virtual Events 284 Vision 31, 37, 70f., 129, 174, 335 Vivid Money 16 Voi 28 Voodoo 19 Webinars 284 Web Traffic 260 wefox 28 Wehbe, Chris 29 Wilson, Hana 29 Zahn, David 30 Zalando 24 354 Keywords, Names, Companies <?page no="355"?> ISBN 978-3-7398-3218-0 Turning communication into your startup’s biggest asset Nine out of ten startups fail. One cause of failure is bad communication - both externally and internally. Yet there is little systematic advice on how startups and scale-ups can overcome this challenge and inspire all stakeholders around the company’s vision, values, and offering. This book closes this gap - with seventy experts sharing their learnings and experiences. It is a guide for all curious to learn more about how to win customers, investors and new talent through a convincing narrative, covering external, internal, social media and leadership communication. Lydia Prexl has been responsible for corporate communications at startups since 2019. For Getsafe, she built the communications function from the ground up; in 2022 she joined Unzer as Director of Communications. Before that, she worked as a communicator for numerous other companies.