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

### __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

__Research – especially quantitative surveys – is a huge part of our work in PR and communications. It’s a critical tool in finding out what’s going on in the world around us, and then building a dialogue with our audience about their views, behaviours, and realities. Yet our experience shows how surveys can be even more meaningful and valuable when DE&I factors are included. That’s why we’ve created  a practical guide for marketers on inclusive research.__

### What do we mean when we talk about inclusive research?

Many surveys, especially in the consumer space, are ‘nationally representative’ or ‘natrep’; representative of UK adults in terms of age, gender, class, and education. 

You could say that a ‘natrep’ approach makes research as diverse and inclusive as it needs to be, as it reflects the make-up of the community we’re talking to. But is it? Genuinely? 

We need to ensure that we’re asking the right questions about demographics, and that we’re also telling the right stories with those answers. 

A key question to ask ourselves is if demographics alone will reveal the real story. The fact 50% of people have a cat isn’t particularly interesting. But if 80% are women and 20% men, your research becomes an insight which informs your marketing strategy. Similarly, if only 10% of employees think they’re discriminated against at work, is that good news? What if it’s 85% of disabled employees, and 3% of non-disabled? That’s a crisis.  

We, and our clients, need to be brave enough to tell these stories, and be authentic in our attempts to solve the problems we unearth. 

### What risks happening when we get it wrong?
If we fail to ask the right questions - and create research which has exclusionary and alienating language or concepts, key individuals drop out of the survey. And as a result, we risk a biased sample and,, either missing the real story - or telling a story that isn’t representative of the whole truth. 

In telling the wrong stories, we open ourselves – and our clients – to reputational risk. Clients might make the wrong marketing decisions, we end up in hot water with the media, or we just downright offend. All of this can be easily avoided by thinking fully about the demographic questions we ask 

### What’s the inclusive research guide?
As a PR and communications agency we’ve worked hard to build out our robust research proposition, working closely with research partners like Censuswide and Opinium to hold each other to account. 

That’s why we wanted to create a practical guide that helps everyone in the industry who’s trying to do better. It’s all too easy when approaching a research project to copy and paste the previous survey’s demographic questions and jump straight into the ‘fun stuff’ that you think will generate headlines - but by spending a bit more time thinking about diversity demographics, you’ll often find a more holistic and interesting story waiting for you at the end. 

You can find the guide [here](https://assets.ctfassets.net/sxw14dxmazhg/77MIgBnC5vOBhOR3bUt6My/1f53de2738bd74756c326bd516e830e9/Teamspirit_Inclusive_Research_Guide.pdf). 

Research is a critical tool in finding out what’s going on in the world around us, but how can we ensure that our research is inclusive? Sandy Downs, Head of DE&I, thinks it means two things: asking the right questions, and telling the right stories.

What does inclusive research look like, and why should we care?

__Welcome to our annual Signals report, where we look at the marketplace direction that we believe will have a significant impact on how financial services communicate.__

Despite being unable to categorically rule out an end to the permacrisis, we are cautiously upbeat about two broad themes for the year ahead – an attitudinal shift and tech enablement. 

Some of the changes of attitude that we predict will be widely embraced include: the desire for Fame, doing fewer things better and securing greater impact; Long-termism with a focus on the ‘S’ as sustainability becomes embedded and Business to Human, as B2B communications become braver and go beyond product. 

In terms of tech enablement, of course no 2024 signals report would be complete without a view on AI. Very aware that there’s the good, the bad and the reality, AI Driving Emotional Moments is a fascinating review of positive application, as is Hyper-personalisation. Platform enablement is explored in both The New Adviser, which looks at the impact of TikTok on the advice market, and, in One Line of Sight, we outline how holistic financial services interfaces are meeting user expectations.

Enjoy the read ahead.

[Download the report here](https://assets.ctfassets.net/sxw14dxmazhg/jNSe8xFxo3VnUarFvWZCt/63fc7b5d494576b1889826043fe98b42/Teamspirit_-_2024_Signals_Report.pdf)

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).

Welcome to our annual Signals report, where we look at the marketplace direction that we believe will have a significant impact on how financial services communicate. 

2024 Signals Report

We are thrilled to have won Best PR Campaign at the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) Annual Shareholder Communication Awards, held earlier in June. 

The PR award, which was secured for the second year running, was in recognition of a campaign revealing the state of the UK IPO market.  The judges remarked this campaign was ‘highly impressive and something industry professionals can spend a lifetime trying to achieve’ and commended the high quality of coverage the campaign had attained, including front page in the Financial Times.  

The AIC developed these awards to demonstrate the industry’s commitment to providing excellent communications. The awards recognise those member investment companies and their managers that stand out by using effective communication methods to keep shareholders informed.

Teamspirit wins Best PR campaign at the AIC Shareholder Communication Awards

Related News

Tue 26 Mar 2024

Buzzing around London

Thu 21 Mar 2024

The New Adviser

Wed 14 Feb 2024

What does inclusive research look like, and why should we care?

Tue 2 Jan 2024

2024 Signals Report