KERRYANN CONWAY
Managing Director The Hive Agency
ACTIVITY The restrictions heavily impacted some clients and their operations. From a brand and corporate reputation perspective, it’s really important that they stay connected to their stakeholders and customers, and that it’s done in an authentic and meaningful way. Effective and strategic public relations became even more important in 2020 than ever before.
REMOTE WORKING It’s a tight team and tech is at the centre of our operations and campaign executions, so we moved pretty seamlessly to remote working. For us, remote is here to stay, albeit in a hybrid form. From a company culture perspective, it’s important that we sit around a table and break bread together. There are nuances in conversations that can’t be understood the same way when exchanges are not face to face, but I won’t be spending 12 hours a week commuting ever again!.
EVENTS It has never been more competitive trying to capture people’s attention and to make meaningful connections with customers. We are all fighting for the same eyeballs, so you have to communicate in an innovative way and draw people in to hear your news. To launch one client event during lockdown, we curated a stunning AR/VR presentation to share with stakeholders and customers. We avoided the jaded ‘webinar’ interview formats and looked at adopting best practice internationally to in-room guest simulation interviews. It has
‘StrategicPRbecameeven moreimportantin 2020’
been really exciting to think boldly and push to innovate in this area of the business.
OUTLOOK Through conversations in our network, I know our clients are determined to make a positive impact economically, socially and sustainably in 2021, irrespective of the fluctuating conditions. There is a renewed impetus to deliver on their visions and ambitions, having gone through the most tumultuous period in recent history. There are still problems that need solutions and people who need products.
EVENTS Virtual events also need effective PR. For example, we secured national news and radio coverage for our new client, The Analytics Institute of Ireland. They had 1,000 attendees from around the world at their international summit last November. Originally scheduled for the Conference Centre in Dublin, the virtual event was instead hosted from a specially created presentation and production studio at The O’Reilly Hall, Dublin.
OUTLOOK Investment in PR communications will build in 2021. Why? Because savvy brands who want to build their market share and reputation understand that they need relevant PR and editorial visibility to create a narrative bond between themselves and key audiences. Without that bond, competitors step into the void and win new customers.
‘ Savvybrandsunderstandtheyneed relevantPRandeditorialvisibility’