More than just press releases Comms & Digi who we are and what - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

More than just press releases… Comms & Digi – who we are and what we do!

What We’ll Cover Today • How communications has changed • The role of Comms and Digi at Dogs Trust • What we do and how you can help!

Once Upon a Time…. These were some of the ways we received our news:

Communications Today

Communications Today • The media doesn’t stop – we have a rolling 24 hour news service. • People receive their news on many different platforms not just through traditional media outlets. • The type of news content people consume is changing . Our content must work harder to engage people and stop them from scrolling on. • “Fake news” online is a significant problem . Social media platforms facilitate the creation and spreading of misinformation, making crises easier to ignite but harder to control. • Social media means everyone’s a publisher – a potential brand champion or critic. • The use of data means marketing has become much more sophisticated. • The number of messages we receive each day has exploded .

Result: We’re all a little overwhelmed!

What does this mean for us? Hang on a 1. We have to work harder than No, minute, I’m ever to cut through the noise. Freedom confused! Or Dog 2. We need to be targeting the School? right people with the right messages. So you’re 3. We must be clear with our about audiences, and take care not rehoming? to confuse people.

The Role of Comms & Digi • To understand our audiences. • To know which messages our audiences respond to. • To help people know and love our brand and what we stand for.

Who are Comms & Digi? • We’ve been going through some changes. Once fully recruited we will be a team of 26 based in Head Office • 4 Regional PR Officers based at Rehoming Centres in Evesham, Harefield, Manchester and Glasgow. • And our team dogs, Daniel the Spaniel and Pete the Chihuahua!

What’s Our Strategy? • We want people to Think Dog, Think Dogs Trust. • Be the ‘go to’ resource for information on dog welfare. • Be known for Rehoming and Training. • Leading voice on “sources of dog” issues like puppy smuggling. • Be better known for A Dog Is For Life. The slogan is more famous than we are, and could be used to demonstrate our lifelong adoption support. Still to come: Our audience insight work will be getting underway to help us better understand who are audiences are, how to reach them, and what messages resonate most with them.

Integrated Campaigns A Dog is For Life Puppy Smuggling

PR & Media Relations • Over 6,800 pieces of media coverage between Jan and July this year, reaching 1.5 billion people! • Operate a 24/7 media relations service, including out of hours. • Provide dog welfare advice, statements and expert interviews to journalists. • We protect our reputation in a crisis i.e. dog bites, charity governance issues. • Provide spokesperson briefings and media training • If any media calls come to you – send them our way!

Celebrity Liaison • We work with a number of celebrities to help raise awareness of our work and help us reach a wider audience. • Celebrities often rehome our dogs or sign up to Dog School and training. • They help front some of our biggest campaigns like ADIFL and puppy smuggling. • Raise money or donate items to Dogs Trust. We only work with celebrities who enhance our brand, and we do not pay any of these supporters.

Internal Comms Once recruited we will have two dedicated internal communications staff in the directorate. They will be responsible for managing our internal comms channels such as the Pawtal, the staff noticeboard, and overseeing our communications to staff about key updates and goings on within the organisation.

Digital Experience • Our digital experience team includes social media, digital marketing, and website development. • Between May and July this year we had over 2.4m users to our website – a 33% increase on last year. • The most popular section was Rehoming with over 34.69m unique page views! • In the year to date we have gained more than 100k new followers/subscribers across our social media platforms.

Content & Stories • WAG, 3 issues per year, circulation is 830,000 each issue • WAG has very dedicated readers who LOVE dogs and Dogs Trust • Others: Annual reports for DT and DT Worldwide, DT guide for vets • We capture inspiring stories for our big campaigns and for teams to use across the organisation.

How can you help? • Everything we do relies on strong story telling. If you’ve got something to share, we’re all ears! • Let us know if something big is happening that you think we should be talking about. • If there’s an issue or a potential crisis, let us know ASAP so we can help.

Thank You!