Wherever you are in the UK (or indeed the world), you’re probably not that far from one of the 3 million+ geocaches hidden and waiting to be found by those in the know. A ‘cache’ may be a tiny magnetic ‘nano’ stuck inside a drainpipe or up a lamppost. It may be camouflaged as a toadstool or a bit of bark. It could involve solving a puzzle or finding a piece of local information. It could even contain a small gift (swag) or a special trackable keyring that wants to travel the world.

You discover these caches using a phone app and GPS. But even when your phone vibrates to signal you’re close, they can be incredibly difficult to spot.
Geocaching is basically treasure-hunting for grown-ups (although my kids have helped me find quite a few – they’re particularly useful for squeezing into small spaces or under low benches!).

And I find it an ideal way to get out of the agency at lunchtime. To reset my brain, get a few steps in and visit somewhere new in the area. It’s the perfect mix of curiosity, observation, exploration and fresh air. All things we love at Teamspirit.

<iframe width="100%" height="166" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/1839884703&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true"></iframe>

So have a listen to my podcast. You never know, you may want to become a geocacher
yourself. And make sure to check out the other episodes of the Teamspiriters podcast series.


Richard Germain, Creative Director, likes to spend lunchtimes indulging in his guilty pleasure – geocaching. He introduces us to this secret world of nanos, swag and trackables.

Cache me if you can

Over the last few weeks our PR team took to the streets of London, hundreds of mini jars of honey in hand, to visit journalists at the national, consumer and trade titles we speak to every day.

A desk drop used to be a classic PR technique. Pre-pandemic, a press release would accompany a gift that would land on journalists desks for them to cover on that day (ideally) with an electronic version arriving in their inbox at the same time. In spring 2020 we hand-delivered hundreds of money plants to the business and money desks across the capital, to celebrate our 25th birthday and remind them that we’re here to help money stories grow. Unfortunately, Covid hit a few days later - some journalists managed to take their plants home or keep them alive over their visits to the office, but many were lost. In a silver lining, a journalist wrote a short story based on the idea, which won her awards for fiction! 

Then the pandemic killed the desk drop - hundreds of journalists working at home aren’t quite so easy to reach in one fail swoop. 

But with journalists now back in the office, for at least a few days a week, it’s firmly time for the resurrection of the art form. I think it’s a great way to keep yourselves, and what you stand for, on journalists’ radars - and for those you haven’t met yet, to begin to build relationships with them. 

While we tucked into pizza on Budget Day, we spotted that Asda’s PR team had sent the money and politics desks at the nationals a hamper full of snacks to keep the journalists fuelled on one of their busiest days of the year. Smart, timely, and relevant. 

We chose to send journalists a pot of honey and a personalised honey twizzler. Not the first thing you might expect from a financial services PR agency. But, in ancient times, honey really was money. It was used to pay taxes and barter in shops. And today, it still is. Pollinators, like honey bees, contribute a huge $22bn to the European agricultural industry per year - not just in the honey they produce, but the crops they fertilise which grows the food we eat. 

While we don’t confess to be experts in hives and honey, we do pride ourselves in being experts in finding different ways to tell a story. Hence the honey desk drop. All with the plus side that our honey comes handmade straight from a Teamspiriter’s hive in the Sussex countryside.

And we decided to hand deliver the honey because it’s critical for us to be out and about, meeting journalists face-to-face - media excellence requires personal relationships. And it was great fun for the whole team, embracing the March showers and negotiations with receptionists across the city. 

And so far, it’s received rave reviews.

“Thanks so much – it’s really "sweet" and kind of you all!” 

“The honey pots are so cute and the little TS honey dippers were incredible. A happy team!”

“My colleagues who have tried the honey say it is delicious so thanks very much."

![Creating a buzz - Content](//images.ctfassets.net/sxw14dxmazhg/5HD1pZTPcdo9EDX2LLXg5s/249540907a60d1fbe5d5b3d1f6066534/Creating_a_buzz.jpg)

Over the last few weeks our PR team took to the streets of London to deliver some sweet desk drops to journalists. Read more about the art of the desk drop here:

Buzzing around London

## What’s going on? 

There’s a clear move to long-termism. Visible in everything from politics and the City to communicating in a more low-key way with Gen Z.

Autumn UK and US elections will mean long-term policy chatter. Despite the ESG performance debate, flows continue into ESG funds, with increased focus on the ‘S’ for social impact.[1] While former Lord Mayor of the City of London, Nicholas Lyons, has created in the Mansion House reforms a long-term legacy to secure capital into high-growth British businesses.  

## Why does it matter?

Falling foul of long-term behavioural standards legislation, such as Consumer Duty, risks easily avoidable reputational damage. Monzo has been called out for escalating fees[2] and the FCA is rebuking unfair ‘buy now, pay later’ terms.[3]

The latest disclosure framework from the net zero Transition Plan Taskforce, the gold standard for best practice sustainable behaviour, now requires companies to report on how their strategic ambitions will positively advance social equity.[4]

Meanwhile demand for better behaved brands and the desire to work for companies that do the right thing continues, particularly for Gen Z, who will comprise 27% of the workforce by 2025 and represent $7 trillion in purchasing influence.[5]

## What can we do? 

- Be clear on your purpose. Short-term responses to economic headwinds cannot come at a cost to investing in what makes you meaningfully different in the first place.
- Be confident in communicating this difference. Fewer, bigger, better is a good starting point for campaigning activity, with a focus on creating catalytic experiences.[6] 
- Hold fast in doing the right thing for the long term. As Ginni Rometty, former Chairman and CEO IBM, says in her book, Good Power: Leading Positive Change.

---

__For more from our 2024 Signals Report, read the full piece [here](https://assets.ctfassets.net/sxw14dxmazhg/jNSe8xFxo3VnUarFvWZCt/63fc7b5d494576b1889826043fe98b42/Teamspirit_-_2024_Signals_Report.pdf). Or if you’d like to discuss the impact of these signals on your business contact us at [hello@teamspirit.co.uk](mailto:hello@teamspirit.co.uk).__

---

1. Association of Investment Companies (AIC) annual ESG Attitudes Tracker October 2023 found 91% of advisers and wealth managers recommending sustainable funds and 72% expecting demand to increase.
2. [Monzo launches ISA (read this before you invest) (telegraph.co.uk)](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/investing/monzo-invest-digital-banks-platform-pot-fund-manager/)
3. [FCA rebukes PayPal over 'unfair' buy-now-pay-later terms as sector braces for clampdown (cityam.com)](https://www.cityam.com/fca-rebukes-paypal-over-unfair-bnpl-terms-as-sector-braces-for-clampdown/)
4. TPT Disclosure Framework – Transition Taskforce
5. [https://www.oliverwymanforum.com/global-consumer-sentiment/a-gen-z.html](https://www.oliverwymanforum.com/global-consumer-sentiment/a-gen-z.html)
6. [https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2023-05-22-gartner-says-catalytic-marketing-allows-cmos-to-drive-profitable-growth-amid-macroeconomic-pressures](https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2023-05-22-gartner-says-catalytic-marketing-allows-cmos-to-drive-profitable-growth-amid-macroeconomic-pressures)

There’s a clear move to long-termism. Visible in everything from politics and the City to communicating in a more low-key way with Gen Z. Find out why this matters...

Why long-termism matters more today

### __The times they are a-changin’. According to findings in a recent Deloitte report, 25% of young people (18–24-year-olds) now [turn to social media for financial advice](https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/press-releases/articles/young-people-turn-to-social-media-forfinancial-guidance.html). Seriously. At the same time, the FCA has revealed that the retail IFA market has shrunk by 7% since 2022.__

__Mmm. What to do?__

This report is for those interested in, and responsible for, communicating about investments. In it we explore what’s going on in the advice marketplace, and the worrying phenomenon of the younger generations’ faith in often unregulated, socially-led financial advice. 

Then we turn the tables, to look at some great examples of how to reach this audience well on social platforms, in particular TikTok, YouTube and Instagram. Creating a hypothetical and deliberately cutting-edge persona of the new adviser, we go on to define the secret sauce of success, by defining the Top Ten Tactics for the New Adviser. 

As a specialist financial services focused agency, we know that 75% of younger people recognise the value of securing financial advice, yet [35% aren’t quite sure where they should start looking for it](https://www.ftadviser.com/your-industry/2023/09/22/less-than-half-of-clients-are-confident-aboutputting-advice-into-practice/). Advisers need to find new ways to ensure consumers get the help that they want, at a time that they need it and at a cost that is affordable. Before they are [forced into it by regulation](https://professionalparaplanner.co.uk/advice-guidance-boundary-may-lead-to-regulatory-restructuring/).

We take the responsibility of transforming the world of finance, including the adviser and investor, for the better.

__Here’s our latest thinking on '[The New Adviser](https://assets.ctfassets.net/sxw14dxmazhg/7pYAjwmiDHxd6k5g5UOkia/4de659696b253af6510042f01ba6802b/9995_2990_The_New_Adviser_Report_2_AW2_Digital.pdf)'.__

The times they are a-changin’. According to findings in a recent Deloitte report, 25% of young people now turn to social media for financial advice. Seriously. At the same time, the FCA has revealed that the retail IFA market has shrunk by 7% since 2022.

The New Adviser

Critical illness is not traditionally the easiest category to gain positive awareness for in consumer media.

But our work for AIG Life was recently recognized for doing just this, winning gold in the PR and Brand Storytelling category at the Marketing Week Masters awards.

Beating shortlisted entries from Lego, Vodafone, Greenpeace and the Roald Dahl Foundation, our winning campaign told the story of Max, a toddler who was
diagnosed at birth as being profoundly deaf. Protected by AIG Life, Max’s parents received a no quibble pay out for their claim, allowing them to give Max the care and quality of life he – and his family - needed.

An innovative content and PR strategy led to interviews on ITV’s Lorraine, BBC and ITV news, sending the story viral.  Well over 200,000 views were achieved across YouTube, national media, Facebook and Twitter. Cover magazine described the activity as ‘a communications vision for the industry’.

Critical illness is not traditionally the easiest category to gain positive awareness for in consumer media. But our work for AIG Life was recently recognized for doing just this...

‘Max’s Story’ wins Marketing Week Masters

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Cache me if you can

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Buzzing around London

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Why long-termism matters more today

Thu 21 Mar 2024

The New Adviser