This week, Founding Director of Bright One, Ben Matthews, spoke at a PRCA Charity Campaign Masterclass, alongside David Hamilton of Action for Children.

Below are his slides, which covers three exciting charities and the tactics they use for successful campaigns: The Pixel Project, Centrepoint, and Child’s i Foundation.

What tips have you got for others to master their charity campaigns?

What makes a good PR professional? What skills do you need? How do you go about getting that all important first job? These were some of the questions discussed in yesterday’s live Q&A arranged by Guardian Careers. The panel included Bright One’s Ben Matthews together with: Emma Radcliffe (Beattie Communications), Hew Leith (M&C Saatchi PR), Dillon Mann (Spada), Maggie Taylor (Prima PR & Marketing), Jon Cope (University for the Creative Arts), Agatha Chapman-Poole (Chapman-Poole Communications), Ellie Hernaman (Truffle PR), Vic Miller (Man Bites Dog), and Jackie Bates (Richmond Towers Communications).

Work experience and social media were popular topics, as well as the discussion regarding suitable degrees. Everyone on the panel agreed that hands-on experience gained through work placements, internships or volunteering is key. You need to be able to show that you’ve got suitable experience for the job you’re applying for and Ben mentioned that a well-presented portfolio could do the trick. And with the increasing use of social media Vic Miller argued for the importance of being able to demonstrate a sound knowledge and to take an active interest in keeping up to date with opportunities it presents for PR. However, Dillon Mann stressed that people shouldn’t get too hung up on social media since it is only one channel amongst many – it is important to know when to use it, but also when not to.

The comments were mixed in regards to University degrees but the overall opinion was that the subject doesn’t really matter. The theoretical communication knowledge you can get with a PR degree together with contacts in the industry is great but academic disciplines could give you useful specialist knowledge. Maggie Taylor gave the example of how a science degree could benefit someone wanting to go into healthcare PR. Hew Leith added to the degree discussion by saying that even if you don’t have any degree, this shouldn’t stop you – the passion for PR is what matters!

There were many more useful comments and if you’d like to read all questions and answers, you can find them here and if you’ve got any further tips or suggestions on how to make it in PR, feel free to comment below.

With cuts being made to local news, and new media providing people with tools to tell stories from their area, citizen journalism is on the rise. Anyone with a smart phone and/or internet access can easily report on breaking news happening where they are and sites like Blottr and Citizens’ Eye are helping them spread their stories.

Bright One founder Ben Matthews was on the panel at a debate organised by Blottr last week. The debate took place at London College of Communication (LCC) and the speakers discussed the role of citizen journalism and its use of new media.

On the panel, together with Ben, were: Adam Baker, Blottr’s founder, Ramaa Sharma, senior lecturer at the BBC College of Journalism, Russell Merryman, lecturer at LCC who helped launch Al Jazeera English, and Mark Stone, Sky News reporter who used his iPhone to report from the London riots earlier this year. The debate was chaired by Milo Yiannopoulos, Blottr columnist and writer for The Times.

The speakers all had interesting points to make in regards to the level of truth and the speed of news and if you’re interested in reading more about what was said in the debate, this post on the Blottr site will give you a good overview.

Ben Matthews, founder of Bright One, is guest editor for this month’s PR for Good Causes feature at Behind The Spin, the online publication for PR students and young practitioners.

Ben introduces the special feature by arguing that recognition of the importance of PR in a charities’ every day activity is becoming increasingly stronger:

Social media has played an important part, opening up new opportunities for driving donations and awareness from a disparate group of supporters, driven mainly by PR teams but also increasingly hand in hand with fundraising teams. There’s been a recent rise in the number of media, especially online, dedicated to reporting on charities and related issues. And more and more students, graduates and working professionals are looking to the third sector as a career choice.”

Topics that will be covered in the series include:

• The Rise of Social Media in Charity Fundraising
• How celebrities are used by charities
• How Charities Communicate with Case Studies
• What CSR really means
• The advantages of PR for charities over other comms
• Interning for charities.

The series will be written by regular Behind the Spin contributors, PR students, Bright One volunteers and those from the wider Bright One community.

Head over to Behind the Spin or follow them on Twitter @BehindTheSpin for more and make sure you subscribe by RSS so you won’t miss a beat!

You can find the other speaker’s presentations and further information about the event over on the CharityComms site or view more presentations from Bright One

Bright One was invited to be on the panel of a Guardian Q&A on “What can social enterprises do to reach that wider audience, and develop greater recognition of the sector as a whole?”

The Q&A was part of the Guardian Social Enterprise Network, with a panel was made up of:

• Becky John, whomadeyourpants?
• Chris Smith, Swarm
• David Pidsley, DavidPidsley.com
• Fran Gorman, Social Enterprise Coalition
• Kim Hawke, Neo
• Lisa Wimborne, Society Media
• Nicola Jones, Social Investment Business
• Rebecca Rapson, Re Zolve

And our very own Ben Matthews, founder of Bright One.

nickchristoforou kick off the discussion with an argument that social enterprises can’t rely on their social credentials alone and have to be better than their competitors – whether public or private:

“Once you are in this position where you are competing on quality, price, process etc. that’s when your purpose and values really start to count. Clients, customers and funders do really care that you are making a difference but only after you’ve ticked all the other boxes.”

A question from @youbloodydidwhat – “Are we really still in an age where nobody knows anything about marketing?” – was answered by kimhawke that “it is more a question of what to say, how to communicate what has become quite a loosely defined sector.”:

“There are lots of challenges just in the term ‘Social Enterprise’ – it does not incorporate the environmental aspects. The recently launched Social Enterprise Mark has used the strapline ‘trading for people and the planet’ to overcome that. It also describes what you do and not what you are. There is an argument in there for rebranding the sector!”

This point was echoed by Ben Matthews, who added:

“There’s a wealth of information out there about marketing – blogs, sites, forums, LinkedIn, etc – so people should be able to get up to speed with the basics relatively quickly. What is perhaps lacking (and where social enterprise suffers) is someone or a group of people within the sector who really grab hold of the term social enterprise and make the general public aware of it through marketing. The Mark is a good start towards this, but perhaps could be marketed ‘better’ to reach the greater public consciousness and truly define what social enterprise stands for.”

As the conversation moved on to general conversation around marketing and PR, Adrian Ashton brought up a valid and vital question that hadn’t been asked:

There’s a fundamental question about raising the profile of your social enterprise that I can’t see appearing yet - ”WHY?” There’s squillions of ways to raise an enterprises’ profile, but all take time (if not money) – and that’s your most precious resource. So why do you want to raise your profile?

Ben Matthews replied by emphasising that it is vital that comms activity is linked to business objectives, whether that is to increase sales or increase social impact:

“But column inches don’t matter if it’s not having a positive impact on your business – and, most importantly, you’ve measured that impact.”

Nic Jones echoed these thoughts with her own angle:

“It is really important when you partake in any comms or marketing activity to measure it. Some activities will be easier than others to measure, e.g. how many stories does a press release generate, how many people view a you tube video, whereas others may not be so simple. It’s important to understand if you are using your precious time wisely through one method or another. It may be that you enjoy partaking in a certain comms or marketing activity, however if it isn’t achieving the desired impact, it might not be a great use of your time.”

There were more excellent points made throughout the Q&A,along with many enthusiastic and well informed responses to the topic. We highly recommend that you view the whole discussion or you can also read David Pidsley’s write up of the event.

The inaugural Impress London, the event for the next generation of PR professionals, took place last week on Thursday 11 November 2010.

The Edelman UK offices played host to around 70 media and comms students looking for an insight into the industry, top tips on how to get their career in PR going, and to network with others interested in media and comms. Unicorn Jobs sponsored the lunch, complete with cupcakes for an afternoon pick me up.

Below are the photos from the day, but you can view them all on the Bright One Flickr photostream.

All in all it was a fantastic day and the feedback that we here at Bright One have received has been fantastic. Here are a few of the write ups we’ve seen so far:

• Behind The Spin: Bright One seeks to Impress
• Offer and Acceptance: To Tweet or not to Tweet?
• Stefan Stern: Where have all the customers gone?

And below is a selection of quotes from those who attended, giving you the insiders impression of the first Impress London event:

“Thanks so much for a brilliant event! There was a real buzz, great people, interesting and engaging speakers – it was fantastic! I think it was really useful whether an early career starter or just graduated.It’s inspired me to start tweeting, and given loads of ideas for work plus the volunteer fundraising stuff I do.”
– Kate Siddiqui

“Just a quick note to thank you for organising yesterday’s event – everyone I spoke to was very impressed by both the organisation and the content. Big plus for me was the wide range of expert speakers”
– Ross Chater

“It was really amazing. I learnt so much in a short space of time. The key speakers were amazing and honest which is good and they made us feel that we could contact them for help later. Also the food and welcome was good. It was done very well and really professional. It gave a real insight into the world of PR so now I know what I need to do in order to get where I want to be.”
– Karina Callam

“As a whole, the entire event was absolutely excellent from start to finish. I do really mean that. I think Bright One did a really good job of getting hold of quality speakers who were really passionate about what they spoke about and who are really clued up in their field of interest. Thank you for the event, it was by far the best career advice session I have attended, and believe me, I have been to many!”
– Avneet Chana

“I thought the range of speakers and topics were really interesting. It was nice to hear about something other than ‘which sector to choose’ or ‘in-house v agency’. The social media stuff was really relevant and up to date and I found Sarah’s talk really helpful.”
– Rhian McNulty

“Thank you so much for organising Impress London! It was really lovely opportunity to meet and understand the industry, and of course meet with some lovely people. I do hope that you keep putting together more of these events.”
– Melanie Fernandes

“I just wanted to say that I thought it was brilliant, it couldn’t have been better organised or more informative. I have learnt so much and I am really grateful, so thank you!”
– Bryony Cook

“I would like to thank you for organising such a great event related to PR and giving students like us an opportunity to know and learn about PR in details.I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of it.It was lovely listening to you and all the Guest Speakers, sharing the key components of PR and their relevant experiences in this field. I really look forward to such wonderful events in the future.”
– Anant Shrivastava

“I was very impressed by the organisation of the event and personally I was fascinated by all the speakers especially with Ali Gee… The fact that it was held in Edelman offices it was very inspiring as well. Keep up the good work, Bright One!”
– Leia-Foteini Loannidi

A big thank you for organising the Impress event. I thought it was great and everyone I talked to seemed to have enjoyed themselves so congratulations! In terms of feedback it is very positive. I thought the speakers were all great. I liked the fact that they were all fairly different from different backgrounds etc which gave the discussions added variation. And the mix of speakers, panel discussions, and break-out session kept everyone interested all day. I’ve been to a couple of events like this where there has been much more “talking-straight-at-you” and I don’t think that works as well so the set up of Impress was a great way of doing it.”
– Tove Nordstrom

“The conference was great, thank you for allowing us to take part in it. Very much enjoyed the social media talks, very interesting and insightful.”
– Jahanara Begum

“Thank you for organising such a nice day and for inviting people! I would say that everything was great, because you’ve formed a very interesting programme, with different people involved, and that was exactly what I was looking for – I wanted to hear about different parts of PR.”
– Ekaterina Malakhova

“Really enjoyed it and made some good people. I thought it was slickly run with some good speakers.”
– Hugo Mintz

“I can’t thank you more for Impress London. That was my first time to meet PR professionals in London and it was absolutely inspiring. It was really a good idea to have an afterward party for us to meet and talk to more people. Thank you again for what you have been doing and best wishes for the Bright One team.”
– Qian Yue

“It was a brilliant chance to meet many of the people I have been interacting with on Twitter and also meet other people working within PR who enjoy their jobs just as much as I hope to! It ran smoothly and I wasn’t bored at any point during the day. Enough time was spent on the separate topics and the fact we were always given chance to ask questions was brilliant. The topics covered were excellent, up to date and relevant.”
– Carli Ann Smith

“Thank you for organising such a great event related to PR and giving students like us an opportunity to know and learn about PR in details.I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of it.It was lovely listening to you and all the Guest Speakers, sharing the key components of PR and their relevant experiences in this field.”
– Anant Shrivastava

There’s still plenty of things we need to improve on, but we felt that this first event was of value to all that attended, so we’ll be looking at running similar events in the future.

Did you attend Impress London? Let us know of any other feedback you had in the comments below!

Bright One is delighted to announce the launch of Impress London, the premier event for the next generation of PR professionals.

Taking place on Thursday 11 November 2010, the event is a one-day conference run by Bright One, the volunteer-run communications agency for the third sector. Aimed at PR & Comms students and graduates from across the UK, we’ll be taking an in-depth look at what’s really going on in the PR industry and how those looking for a career in PR can become a part of it.

The event aims to help answer these questions and more:

• Have you got what it takes to make it in the PR industry?
• What skills do you need to learn and demonstrate to impress potential employers?
• Which sector of PR is right for you?
• What’s coming next and who is the ideal PR professional that agencies want to employ?

We hope to answer some of these questions and more in a lively atmosphere with a range of PR industry leaders in attendance. We will be bringing you speakers, panelists and participants from big brands and the PR industry and will give them a place to discuss, debate and give you a unique insight into the world of PR.

Speakers announced so far include:

• Marshall Manson – Managing Director of Digital, EMEA, Edelman
• Stephen Davies – Independent online PR consultant
• Ben Matthews – Founder, Bright One
• Rishi Bhattacharya – Associate Director, Edelman UK
• Sarah Stimson – Director, Unicorn Jobs
• Nicole Eisele – Senior Programme Manager, Hotwire PR

Tickets are free and available here, including lunch sponsored by Unicorn Jobs.

We’re also looking for sponsors, so find out how to support Impress London or get in touch with Ben  Matthews at ben@brightone.org.uk to start the conversation.

More updates will be coming soon, but in the meantime make sure you book your place and find out more at the Impress London site.

Bright One, the volunteer-run communications agency for the third sector, celebrates its second year anniversary through a partnership with the PRCA, the professional body that represents UK PR consultancies and in-house communications teams, and marks it with two remarkable results.

Firstly, Bright One is delighted to announce its partnership with the Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA), the UK PR consultants’ trade body. As well as joining the PRCA, Bright One will be given a voice by becoming closely involved with the PRCA’s not-for-profit working sectoral group.

The two organisations will work closely together to help raise awareness of the opportunities and need for PROs to volunteer their skills to the third sector and have its volunteering opportunities promoted to other PRCA’s members. This partnership is another step in making Bright One the pre-eminent volunteering organisation for the PR industry.

“We’re delighted to have Bright One on board as a member of the PRCA and look forward to working in partnership. Bright One is an initiative we’re keen to support, as not only does it help charities with their communications needs, but also helps develop the next generation of PR professionals – the future of our industry. They couldn’t get off to a better start than by volunteering with Bright One.”

Francis Ingham, chief executive of the PRCA

Secondly, following its successful first year, Bright One has measured the social impact of the work carried out by its volunteers during its second year. The impact has been quantified by calculating the amount of resource that charities have been able to access as a result of Bright One’s services. Its volunteers have collectively dedicated a whopping 2,700 hours of PR and communications support to helping small charities with their PR and communications efforts. This equals over £300,000 worth of consultancy services. Year on year, Bright One has donated an extra 1,200 hours of work organised through the agency, and generated a 54% increase in economic value.* Bright One’s volunteer’s have created this impact for clients such as Amnesty International, Centrepoint and the Social Enterprise Coalition.

“We are thrilled with how our second year of life has gone.” Ben Matthews, Founder of Bright One, said. “We’ve turned in a fantastic contribution to the third sector’s communications needs, thanks to a growing number of committed and competent volunteers. Charities often cannot afford to invest much in PR, and we are proud to have provided a huge amount of consultancy services, at the same time giving professionals in our industry the chance to volunteer and broaden their skills.”

“It seems fitting that our growth should be marked by the partnership with the PRCA; we are delighted and proud to become members of our professional trade body and to be recognised for our role in both the PR and the volunteering sectors.”

“We are stepping into our third year with continued enthusiasm, and we already have a number of high profile initiatives underway for the near future. We are hoping to continue to attract high-calibre of the volunteers who put themselves forward, and who deserve respect and recognition for their hard work. Without them we could not be where we are today.”

* This number is obtained by multiplying the number of volunteers by the number of hours they donate per week by number of weeks the account has been active with Bright One. This is then multiplied GBP 115, an average flat hourly fee a commercial agency would charge a client for a PR executive’s work. This is a conservative estimate as it uses an indicative fee for a volunteer’s contribution.

What’s even more exciting for us is that the Social Enterprise Mark is also a client, as we helped launch the Mark in February 2010 and have been working with them to develop their online presence and engage with social entrepreneurs through social media.

The Social Enterprise Mark is the brand for social enterprises, businesses that have a socially driven mission. Social enterprises are working to make a difference across the UK and beyond, but not enough people know what they are or how they work. The Social Enterprise Mark aims to raise awareness of what social enterprises do in order to get more people to buy from, engage with, start up and work for social enterprises.

You can find out more by watching the video below:

Ben Matthews, Founder of Bright One, said: “Bright One is absolutely committed to supporting charities, social enterprise and other third sector organisations in their communications activities, allowing them to raise awareness and much needed funds for their causes. We’re really proud to have been awarded the Social Enterprise Mark, which shows that we have created a sustainable organisation that makes a real impact to both volunteers and charities.”

Lucy Findlay champion from the Social Enterprise Mark Company, added: “We are delighted to award the prestigious Social Enterprise Mark to Bright One. Social enterprises come in all shapes and forms so it’s great to see a vital voluntary organisation understanding the importance of being part of the wider social enterprise brand.”

You can find out more about the Social Enterprise Mark at www.socialenterprisemark.org.uk.