AuraTalk is a free e-zine by Aura PR which is geared towards helping SMEs stand out by having a clear PR and communications strategy, using up-to-date skills and tools. AuraTalk is written to give handy tips for small businesses and a bit of insight into Aura's own work and news. Visit www.aura-pr.com to see how we can help you and your business.

1. AURATALKHELPINGSMESSTANDOUT
PicturebyLauraSutherlandinGlasgow
Issue no. 4

2. EDITOR'S NOTE
E D I T O R - I N - C H I E F
WelcometothefourthissueofAuraTalk.
InScotlandwe'vehadaboutthreeweeksofsunshine,butweknowthesouthofEnglandhas
hadgloriousweatherforweeks!We'renotjealousatall,honest!
We'vehadaverybusysummerwiththePRFestival,WestEndFestival,TheBigLunch,lotsof
newbusinessactivity,myusualblogpostsandgettingtogripswithwhattherestoftheyearhas
instore.Ilaunchedmyownbloglauramsutherland.comtoo- youshouldsignuptofollowit.
Thisissuetakesalookbackatthelastmonthortwoandwelookatwhatyouneedtobedoing
topreparewintercampaignsandwhatnewtoolsareavailabletousetohelpyou.
AuraTalkhashelpedclientsandcolleaguesalike,givingthemtipsonwhattodoandhowtogo
aboutit.PRisnotsomethingwesuggestyoudoyourselfifyou'renotexperiencedandskilled.
Gettheexpertsinvolved- it'llsaveyoutime,moneyandgetyoueffectiveresults.
AbitofnewsfromAura,Laura'sblogpostshavebeencountedinthetop25femalePRcareer
adviceblogs! LaurahasalsobeeninvitedtojointheBoardoftheScottishCommunicator's
Network,helpingbridgethegapbetweenpublicandprivatesectorsinPRandcomms.
Enjoythisissueandhopetotalksoon.
W W W . A U R A - P R . C O M
Laura Sutherland

3. Images: Stewart Attwood
#PRFest

4. NEWS... in brief
Aura has been handed the contract to launch
Therapie Clinic in Scotland. Two clinics will
open in Edinburgh and Glasgow in October.
Therapie has 15 clinics in Ireland and the
£2million investment in the Scottish launch
will see the start of Therapie's expansion
across the UK.
www.therapieclinic.co.uk
Aura has worked with the International Aspirin Foundation to
develop a strategy to raise awareness of the benefits of
aspirin.
In September, Aura will head to London to the Senior Science
Awards working to raise awareness of the award and winner.
www.aspirin-foundation.com
AurahasworkedwiththeWestEndFestival
forthelastfiveyearshelpingengagethe
publicwithitsJunefestivalandforthelasttwo
years,TheElectricGardens.Thiswinter,Aura
willhelplaunchanewinitiative- atorchlight
paradetakingplaceon26November.
www.westendfestival.co.uk
Laurahascommitedsignificanttimeinthelastsixyearstothe
developmentofthePRindustryandindeedpractitioners.Asa
formerBoardDirectorandcurrentCouncilmember,Laurawillstandin
theupcomingCIPRCouncilelections,lookingtosecureaseatfor
2017foratwo-yearterm.VotingstartsonMonday,12September!
www.cipr.co.uk

5. Aura worked with The Big Lunch in
Scotland, to help raise awareness
and encourage sign-up of
communities across Scotland, to
take part in The Big Lunch, which
was held on 12 June.
Apparently Dundee was the
'warmest' city in Scotland, with
many communities regularly eating
meals with friends, family and
neighbours.
Thanks to our three helpers for
posing for media pictures at
Sighthill, Glasgow!

6. Summer intern, Lesley Clark, tells you
what it's like to be an Aura intern...
Today marks my last day as a PR intern in the Aura office. My notepad is full,
my brain packed to the brim with new information. I’m reflecting on how
much I’ve had the opportunity to learn in the short space of four weeks. I
hope by sharing my experience, it can offer a little insight into day-to-day life
as a PR intern.
Here’s a snapshot of what I’ve been up to this month…
#1 ‘Same task, different day’ doesn’t apply in PR – each day is different
For many, the idea of an internship conjures up bleak thoughts. Perfecting coffee making,
stapling ‘til your heart’s content and pretending to look busy. Not at Aura, and thank
goodness! I’d been a PR intern an hour and already Laura had introduced me to a new
health and beauty client proposal. She asked I pull together data sets from national
publications. It soon became clear that finding this kind of information requires assertive,
clear and concise communication with publications to get fast and relevant results.
This brief allowed me to switch roles. I went from a consumer to someone actually seeing
the ins and outs of the process of selecting the right publication for a campaign. The
importance of selecting options which will gain the most engagement became clear. It
surprised me that many national publications could not supply relevant data. Geo-
targeting Scottish audiences was outlined as a key priority for this client. It was, for that
reason, essential to select publication options which would be measurable.

7. #2 Paid, earned, shared, owned media – the importance of combining all four
The PESO model, paid, earned, shared and owned media, something that fluttered
around once or twice during my marketing lectures. For something so important, it
wasn’t given much thought. Working at Aura has emphasised how crucial this model is
in succeeding within PR and communications. The industry moves faster than you have
time to realise you’re actually moving. Adopting PESO is essential to keep up with the
race and to demonstrate return of investment (ROI).
One clear piece of advice I’ve had working as a PR intern at Aura is that creating
valuable, relevant content is vital to the success of any engagement. Although the PESO
model begins with ‘paid’, this does not need to be the key starting point in engaging
target audiences. My time as a PR Intern here has emphasised that media and
communications cannot be approached as a linear process, but instead one which
requires a combination of elements of the PESO model and most importantly, a
willingness to try new things.
PESO model
W W W . A U R A - P R . C O M

8. #3 Creating a PR tool-kit
Before working at Aura, my PR tool-kit was near enough empty. I had a few ideas about
media tools but didn’t have much experience putting them into practise. There are so
many other resources available to assist with working day-to-day.
Here are a couple I’ve been introduced to…
– Canva
The power of visual marketing is more significant than ever before within the PR industry.
Laura introduced me to Canva. It’s a visualisation tool which provides a massive amount
of resourcespr intern Canva . There are free images, templates, fonts & photos which
can help to create many different infographics for media purposes. I have seen first-
hand, the potential for a blog post to go from a non-engaging mish-mash of text, to a
piece of content which looks bright and well-structured. This makes the reader
genuinely want to carry on reading past the first paragraph and it’s all thanks to Canva.
– Hemingway Editor
My last written exam was in April and I’ve been sunning myself abroad for the majority of
the summer. So, I think it’s safe to say my writing skills are a little on the rusty side. When
Laura asked me to put together my first blog for the Aura website, she suggested I make
use of the Hemingway Editor. It’s a tool which helps writers to structure their ideas into an
easily readable format – think spellchecker, but for style. The app highlights where your
writing is too dense, disorganised and needs a bit of attention. For a self-confessed
waffler like me, this tool has been incredibly useful and I highly recommended it. Click
here to give it a go…
#4 Be a sponge!
pr internIf you want to learn you have to be willing to ask questions, and loads of them.
Make mistakes, but learn from them fast. The ability to take constructive criticism well will
help too. BE A SPONGE!
Personally, I learn best by being chucked in at the deep end. My project briefs were
succinct for a reason – so that it was a learning process. All too often, throughout
academia in particular, we become horses lead to water. This experience has given me
the opportunity to learn as I go, it has encouraged me to ask questions.
One of the briefs given to me was to help in creating a corporate sales strategy for an
events venue client. I compiled a document which included both competitor analysis as
well as a strategy.

9. This was designed to look at the sales process as a customer journey. Though the
document included images throughout, with the intention of appealing to the reader, it
became clear after consulting with Laura that although in some cases this can add to
the value of content, when it comes to the nitty gritty, sometimes it’s best to stick to text in
order to keep things concise. Without trying and testing different formats, I wouldn’t have
been able to learn from my mistakes.
So, how’s it been?
Four weeks ago, I drove into work as a new PR intern, not quite knowing what to expect.
Frankly I felt a bit like I was starting secondary school all over again, as the ‘newbie’.
Luckily, my time here has been anything but as scary as school. I’ve had an
encouraging, dedicated mentor with a genuine interest in challenging me professionally
and shaking up the PR industry. My time at Aura has been jam-packed. I’ve explored
digital marketing, data analysis, PR best practice, crisis communication and most
importantly, how to best conduct myself as a professional in the industry.
One-on-one interaction has been invaluable. I can’t thank Laura enough for offering me
this opportunity and I’m excited for new ventures to come. It’ll be interesting to put what
I’ve learned into practice!
Four of Aura's favourite summer PR tools
#1 Instagram
Now with an even better platform,
easy to use and reaching anyone,
anywhere, Instagram has developed
from just a selfie sharing platform into
a platform where people can find
anything of interest to them in a real-
life way. It’s authentic, as all content
should be!
#2 Tweetsmap
A paid-for platform which looks into
your audience and helps understand
who you follow and who follows you.
For £20 can look at people’s
locations, interests, see who is active
and inactive, see who follows you
back, all the way down to
engagement levels.
#3 Canva mobile
I use it almost daily for creating
visuals for social, blogs, video and
The mobile app uses free images in
a variety of templates, ready for
different platforms. You can then
save it to your phone, upload on
whatever platform and Bob’s your
Uncle!
#5 AMEC Framework
I found out in June just before
#PRFest that AMEC would be
launching a new framework tool
online, to help practitioners be more
consistent in delivering quality
evaluation of campaigns.

10. Paid and earned media -
there is a big difference
As Aura works across the media
landscape, it has become obvious that
there is work to be done to ensure clients
are fully aware of the difference between
paid and earned media.
The Competitions and Market Authority
(CMA) have started to become involved in
cases where paid media hasn't been
transparent.
As you may know, Laura is a member of the
CIPR's Council and as such, believes in
setting an example to fellow PR
practitioners.
She has recently finished a best practice
guide, co-authored by fellow CIPR member
Gavin Harris, which talks about the ethical
approach to paid and earned media.
What is paid media?
Simply put, it’s media that you pay for! Paid
for Facebook posts or promoted tweets are
common examples of paid media on social
media. Traditional paid media streams such
as display advertising and search
marketing are a more directly relevant route
to generate users to the site, which is useful
to create traffic and in turn create website
conversions. Paid media in public relations
can directly target audiences in a timely
and relevant manner.
What’s the issue?
The question of ethical earned media can
be blurred particularly if editorial is offered as
part of a package of paid media.
If you look back at the PESO model, you'll
see where each has their strengths and
where they apply.
What’s the difference between advertising
and advertorial?
An advertorial is an advert which appears in
the form of editorial content. The word
"advertorial" combines the words "advert”
and editorial." We tend not to use 'advertorial'
as it can confuse people if it's paid or
earned.
What is earned media?
Earned content is earned on merit because
of its relevance and value to audiences. It’s
also distinguishable by the fact it’s never
paid for. Earned content should be
generated through following an ethical and
transparent process that seeks to inform
audiences on how content is generated.
For example, if you have paid for editorial
which includes an image and links, then this
will be considered an advertorial and should
be ‘labelled’ as this, by the publisher.
#ad
W W W . A U R A - P R . C O M

11. The UK Code of Non-broadcast
Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct
Marketing (CAP Code) provides clear
guidance in this area and the UK
Competition & Markets Authority (CMA)
has sought assurances from advertising
agencies that they won’t breach
consumer protection legislation.
The bottom line is consumers must always
be aware when content is being funded
by a third party.
Other types of earned content include
those generated through influencer
relations such as blogs, vlogs and
mentions in posts on social media
platforms like Twitter, Facebook,
Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn. The
same rules apply here – regardless of
whether if it’s a “mention” in a tweet or a
whole blog post dedicated to a brand or its
products and services, it’s only earned if it’s
produced on merit and not paid for.
Ifitispaidfor,you'relikelytosee#ador
somethingsimilar.Lauraoftencomments
oncelebrityandbrandposts,askingthem
tobemoretransparenttoreaders.
Ethical implications
Workingonbehalfofanemployerorclients
togeneratecontentfrombloggersand
socialmediainfluencerswhodon’treveal
whentheyarebeingpaidtopromotea
product,serviceorbrandisagainstthe
CIPRCodeofConduct.
Completetransparencyistheonlyway.
The best practice
guide will launch on
1st October as part of
the CIPR's Ethics
Month

12. New framework
for measurement
& evaluation
Aura's Chief, Laura Sutherland, led a panel of
practitioners to review the new framework
PartoftheissueofunderstandingthevalueofPR,isthepoorqualityofmeasurementand
evaluationfrompractitioners.
Untilrecentyears,AVEswereusedagainstthequantityofcoverage,whichsimplyisn'taformof
measurement.
AVEsarenolongeracceptedacrossmuchoftheindustryandorganisationssuchasAMEC,
theInternationalAssociationforMeasurementofCommunications,ismakingheadwayto
improveindustrystandards.,
Asaresultofconsultationwiththeindustryandindeedimportantly,thebusinessworld,,AMEC
launchedanewframeworkonline,inJune.
Theframeworkinmyviewisn'tquitethere,butit'sastartingpoint.Iledapaneloffiveother
practitioners,fromacrosstheworld,onbehalfofthePRCA.Weusedtheframeworkonprojects
andreviewedanumberofthings:1.theconcept2.theusage3.theinformationandreportingis
givesand4.howitcouldbedeveloped.
Theframeworkisbrokendownintosevenparts.Yousimplyclickononeofthesectionsto
inputinformationandonceyou'vecompletedallofthem,yousubmitthecontentandit
generatesareportforyou.
Youcan'tsaveandgobackandamendlaterasit'sdoneinyourbrowser.
Asitstands,thereisnoroomfornarrativeorexplanations.Similarly,ifanactivityhasfailed,that
stillneedstobeincluded,butatthemomentthereisno'area' forthistypeofinformation.

13. Newsagendaschangeeveryminutedependingonwhat'shappeningandthiscan
affectacampaign'ssuccess.Again,thereisnoplaceforthistypeofinformationonthe
report.
Measurementandevaluationstartsatthebeginningofanycampaign- notattheend.
Theframeworkcanhelpplanacampaign,ensuringallsectionshavebeencompleted,
evenwithexpectedoutcomesandimpacts.
Sowhilsttheframeworkisanexcellent,start,thereareimprovementstobemade.I
hopeAMECtakesourreviewandputstheconstructivefeedbackintoaction.
Howcanyouusetheframework?Itwillhelpyoutounderstandwhatyouneedtobe
discussingandagreeingwithyourPRagency.Itwillalsohelpyoutograspwhatis
involvedinstrategy,tactics,measurementandevaluation.
Practitionersneedaccesstoallsortsofdatatohelpthemmeasureandevaluate-
GoogleAnalytics,salesreporters,trends,sign-upsetc.Italllinksbacktotheobjectives,
KPIsandtheoverallimpact.Thereisnopointinjustlistingtacticsandoutputs.
TheabovewillalsodemonstratethatPRneedstocollaboratewithotherdepartments,
togainaccesstodataandtounderstandthebusiness- before,duringandafter.
The new framework by AMEC
W W W . A U R A - P R . C O M

14. Aura strategies
Aura events Aura issues
Aura crisis
Get in touch...you'd
be surprised where
a conversation can
lead!
Aura content
W W W . A U R A - P R . C O M

15. Christmas shopping will begin
soon. Is your campaign ready?
Aura tips for developing your campaign
Do you have a product which is an ideal gift or a service which can be used across the
festive period? Start to think now, what that is, who you are targeting and how you can get
it infront of the consumer.
Magazines will be looking for products to feature in the gift pages of supplements - get a
forward features plan and start to sell your product in. You'll need great product imagery
and a short narrative with pricing to accompany.
Are you looking for Christmas bookings for your restaurant, hotel, bar or venue? Think
about allocating a budget for promoted posts on Facebook, paid advertising in
supplements or if you've got something unusual about your menu, it may be of interest to
the features writers. You'll need great photography of the dish to help it in or you could set
up a photo opportunity with your chef and the dish.
Don't forget your email database. Email marketing done right can be highly effective.
Make your content visual. Pay to reach those audiences who
are hard to reach.
Try and come up with an original angle - people love buying
unusual or different gifts. Don't just repackage what you've
already got!
If you need help - you know where we are!

16. What's on...
Glasgow Doors Open Day 12-18 September
Great Scottish Run 1 October
Mackintosh Festival the month of October
Glasgow Loves Christmas 6 October - 31 December
Edinburgh Oktoberfest 5-9 October
BBC Good Food Show Scotland 6 November
The Country Living Magazine Christmas Fair 17-20
November
Edinburgh's Christmas 18 November - 8 January
Winter Foodies Festival 25-27 November
Visit list.co.uk for Scotland-wide event listings
W W W . A U R A - P R . C O M

17. Client spotlight
thelighthouseevents.co.uk
When it comes to hosting an event in Glasgow, The Lighthouse
offers a city centre location in a very stylish and unique building.
SetjustoffBuchananStreet,the'StyleMile',The
Lighthousespanssixfloors.It'saneventvenue,exhibition
spaceandvisitorcentre.
Onanyvisityoucanvisitoneoftheexhibitions,graba
coffeeintheDoocotCafe,seespectacularviews,learn
aboutCharlesRennieMackintosh,buygiftsorsimplyhave
awanderaboutthefabulousbuilding.
Thevenuenowhasanumberofeventspaces,catering
fromlargeconferencesanddinnerstosmallboardroom
meetings.Withon-sitecatering,freewifiand
complimentarywater,it'sano-brainertobookThe
Lighthouseforyournextevent.
ThelatestroomtobeaddedtothevenuespacesisThe
TowerRoom.Exposedstonework,largewindowsanda
cosyfeelmakesanintimatespaceforbrainstorming,
creativemeetingsorevenaBoardawayday.
OFFER! Free
tea/coffee for up to 20
delegates if you
quote #AuraTalk
when booking!

18. Visit aura-pr.com #AuraTalk
Acting as an extension of your team,
providing a professional and personal
service, across public relations.
@AuraPR