The Spark

Greenwashing … and greenhushing

You’re probably keenly aware of the concept of greenwashing, where a company uses advertising and public messaging to try to appear to be environmentally sustainable and green – perhaps greener than it really is. 

But are we too quick to lampoon companies for simply trying to communicate the environmentally minded developments they are excited about?  

The British Standards Institution’s director for Centre of Excellence for Sustainability, Martin Townsend, discusses greenwashing – and indeed greenhushing – when communicating sustainability initiatives on this insightful blog for Edie.net.

Katie Mallinson, managing director

Are the days of social media writer's block finally over?

At Scriba PR, we’re keeping a close eye on innovation in generative AI deployments to see what might be game-changing — and where there's still work to be done.

Many companies are introducing and developing AI copywriting services. One recent example is Hootsuite, which newly encompasses OwlyWriter - currently free to customers, while it gathers feedback and builds its powers.

The tool aims to help communications professionals with the specific task of coming up with ideas for, and drafting, social media posts and captions for key platforms.

Alice Kelly, account manager

Design eyes on AI too

We’re learning that bots can indeed write material like humans, with the right prompts … but did you know they are moving into design, too? 

Canva and Adobe are both moving towards generative AI tools, bringing a myriad of new possibilities – and serious considerations as discussed on this blog.

Digiday reports 75% of marketers predict that ethical AI will be a top concern by 2025. At Scriba PR, while we’re excited to see where AI takes our journey, we’re also cautious and keen for this technology to be used for the right reasons and purposes.

Kat Plant, client relations manager

Twitter’s move towards long-form content

Twitter CEO Elon Musk’s pay-for blue tick policy — £9.60 per month, by the way — continues to split opinion and create headlines, but were you aware that paying subscribers can now post up to 10,000 characters, and use bold and italic text?

This is part of grander plans to get people posting long-form, searchable, content directly to the site. It’s worth remembering though, as you sit down to compose your masterpiece, that key points should be made before you get to 280 characters — as past this point your followers will need to tap ‘show more’.

Grace Lenihan, account director

How much kit and caboodle is really necessary?

At Scriba we’re passionate about food as well as our home county of West Yorkshire - and today we’re looking toward Leeds-based YouTube phenomenon RateMyTakeaway for content inspo. 

It might seem unlikely, in our B2B world, that we’re pointing out a man with a picnic table who tours the country reviewing burgers, pizzas, and suchlike, but our point is the level of kit this requires. 

The team told us they film everything on a humble iPhone, with just a gimbal — a pivoted support that guards against shaky footage — and a wireless microphone pack, as additional pieces of equipment. It’s simply edited, too.

While the results are not akin to a slick corporate video — and why would they be? — it’s good enough for 600,000 subscribers and counting. It even stands up to big-screen TV viewing, which is increasingly popular among their audience. 

Of course, this is not a new concept. However, it does remind us that you don’t necessarily need Netflix-grade gear (or budgets!) to make great content with a grass rootsy, immediate feel.

Jenny Gibson, editorial excellence manager

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