When high street bakery Greggs said it was launching a vegan sausage roll back in 2019, many felt − like Piers Morgan − that it was an idea dreamed up by a ‘PC-ravaged clown’.
But its detractors didn’t bank on the PR skills of the Greggs marketing and comms team, which turned what might have been a campaign disaster into an unexpected hit. Four years later, the Quorn-filled snack is still one of Greggs’ most popular pastries.
And a neat post we found on HR Grapevine says you might want to use the famous Greggs promotion as a template for your own internal comms campaigns.
The article, promoted by Acteon, serves up the six vital ingredients for effective campaigns, and suggests how you might apply them to your own internal comms.
Pass the remote
Three years ago, we were plunged into lockdown – working from home was the order for most of us.
Businesses which could never have imagined being able to operate remotely found remarkable new ways of working. And while many have since returned to a physical office, others have not, with some businesses saying their workforce can be just as effective working remotely.
In the wake of our new normal, fresh roles were born. Head of remote and chief remote officer are now recognised job titles, and not the name you’d give to the person in charge of changing the channels on the TV.
In response, Jo Eyre, Head of Internal Communication at Omnipresent, explains why anyone doing this type of role – looking to enhance the performance and productivity of remote workers – needs to be a communications expert.
Unleash your inner MrBeast
Have you heard of MrBeast? Don’t worry if you haven’t – just ask anyone under 18. They’ll tell you all about their favourite millionaire YouTuber who has 150 million fans worldwide, and tell you he’s one of the most famous people in the world, despite being totally off the radar for anyone over the age of 30.
So why is he relevant to internal comms professionals?
Well, he knows how to engage people with video. And video editor Sayujya Gupta (who has a bit of a following himself on Twitter) has been analysing MrBeast’s editing style to find out why people connect so well with his YouTube content.
Sayujya has identified seven tricks used by MrBeast to ensure his YouTube posts keep going viral, including super-fast cutting, making the first few seconds of the video as engaging as possible (apparently, the majority of your audience will leave after 20 seconds), and adding in lots of on-screen text to hook in the viewer.
You can read the full list at Sayujya’s Twitter feed, and find out what your kids see in MrBeast on his YouTube channel.
Any thoughts on Greggs’ vegan sausage roll campaign or MrBeast’s viral videos? Drop us a line or comment below, and we’ll be back with more IC news next month.
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