REPORT FROM EXECUTIVE BOARD TO SENATE 2 OCTOBER 2012 PUBLIC RELATIONS STRATEGY

Vision 2021 provides the University with a clear strategic focus for the future and articulates how we aim to fulfil our vision of being a world-class civic university focused on research that addresses major societal challenges. This PR Strategy sets out how we will reflect our vision through a range of creative communication methods aimed at a number of key audiences. As one of Vision 2021s enabling strategies this document also supports the delivery of a number of other key University strategies including: Engagement, Internationalisation and Student Recruitment.

The PR Strategy seeks to: Develop a clear and consistent corporate narrative. Increase awareness and advocacy of Newcastle University among a range of target audiences. Build a positive media profile regionally, nationally and internationally. Increase the use of the website and social media in Corporate Positioning. Support the positioning of Newcastle as a City of Science. Manage the Universitys reputation.

The strategy was developed with the support of a Special Interest Group (Professor Ella Ritchie, Mrs Lesley Braiden, Ms Jacqui Henderson, Mr Neil Braithwaite, Dr Joanna Berry, Mr Jonathan Glass, and Ms Abi Kelly) and with input from Executive Board. This document covers the context and the strategic aims and objectives. An implementation plan is being developed alongside a set of key performance indicators which will support our strategic aims and will be used to monitor and evaluate the impact of our PR Strategy. The strategy is presented to Senate for information having been approved by Council on 10 September 2012.

Professor Ella Ritchie Deputy Vice-Chancellor On behalf of Executive Board 24 September 2012

Abi Kelly Director of Public Relations

NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY PUBLIC RELATIONS STRATEGY SEPTEMBER 2012 SEPTEMBER 2015 Positioning a World-class Civic University CONTENTS 1. Overview 2. Context 3. Strategic Aims 4. Strategic Objectives: 4.1 To develop a clear and consistent corporate narrative 4.2 To increase awareness and advocacy of Newcastle University among a range of target audiences 4.3 To build a positive media profile regionally, nationally and internationally 4.4 To increase the use of the website and social media in Corporate Positioning 4.5 To support the positioning of Newcastle as a City of Science 4.6 To manage the Universitys reputation 5. Measurement and evaluation 1. OVERVIEW Vision 2021 provides the University with a clear strategic focus for the future. It articulates how we aim to fulfil our vision of being a world-class civic university with a focus on research that addresses major societal challenges. This PR Strategy sets out how we will reflect our vision through a range of creative communications methods aimed at a number of key audiences. As one of Vision 2021s enabling strategies this document also supports the delivery of a number of other key University strategies including: Engagement, Internationalisation and Student Recruitment. Detail of this PR activity is contained in these separate strategies. 2. CONTEXT Higher Education in the UK has experienced unprecedented change in recent years. Government reforms have resulted in greater competition for students and a more marketised environment that means universities like Newcastle need to rethink the way they promote themselves.

A step-change in Public Relations activity is needed; recognising that PR is a discipline separate to marketing requiring specific expertise and resources. Effective PR is achieved by doing a large number of small activities well and in a consistent way over time rather than a small number of large activities. It is about being clear about our message and being proactive and creative in delivering that message. It requires us to be bolder in our promotional activity and less risk-averse so as to secure a greater share of voice amongst competitor universities. We need to build on our brand of a world-class civic university and explain what it means. This is not about developing a logo; it is about building a reputation and a personality for our organisation. Once established, embedded and understood we must make sure that our brand lives up to its promise. We need to ensure that the way we all talk about the University and our behaviours reflect our brand. This document sets out how Public Relations will help build our brand and the various activities we will focus on to position Newcastle University effectively in a competitive marketplace. 3. STRATEGIC AIMS To build the Newcastle University brand and ethos of Excellence with a Purpose To position Newcastle University as a world-class civic university with a global reputation for academic excellence To foster the development of effective relationships with key stakeholders regionally, nationally and internationally To support student and staff recruitment

4. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES 4.1 Strategic Objective 1: Develop a clear and consistent corporate narrative Developing a strong and distinctive narrative about Newcastle University which is understood by all and which resonates with people inside and outside the organisation, is the first stage in building our brand and setting us apart from the competition. Excellence with a Purpose The vision of a world-class civic university helps to make Newcastle University distinctive. However, its meaning is not understood by all. The development and adoption of the strapline Excellence with a Purpose aims to explain our mission in a simple and effective way. It starts to engender a positive, inclusive feeling towards Newcastle University which is important in harnessing pride among staff who are crucial to delivering our message and

developing our organisational personality. It also helps build trust among our many stakeholders. We need to build a narrative based on Excellence with a Purpose. The foundation of this is a professional-looking corporate information pack featuring our main collateral materials: Vision 2021, Ahead, Key Facts and the corporate video. The strapline Excellence with a Purpose should be used across all key corporate materials to present a coherent suite of quality documents. This pack will be updated on an annual basis. Imagery and key messages will be followed-through on the website, posters and banner-stands to present a consistent brand. In addition, creative ways of demonstrating our Excellence with a Purpose should be employed. A series on Excellence in... easy-to-read documents will be produced that feature 20 case studies of our key priorities such as: Engagement, business links and alumni. For example, the Excellence in Partnership will feature case studies of how Newcastle Science City is making a difference. It will be particularly important for our existing and prospective students to understand and buy-into the Excellence with a Purpose message. This will require us to tailor the message to an individual School level and through our recruitment efforts. League Tables Being clear and consistent about our key selling points is also important in developing our narrative. Where we rank well in league tables will influence student recruitment but also help position Newcastle in the eyes of many other audiences. By making key facts more visible at the end of all press releases as a boilerplate; summarised in easy-to-carry key facts booklets and used prominently on poster sites positioned at transport gateways into the city, these rankings will be made more memorable to both internal and external audiences. Staff recruitment advertising To date, the University has lacked a clear identity for its recruitment advertising. A proliferation of different brands and styles gives a very disjointed and confused impression of the organisation and fails to project a consistent message about the University to the academic world. The development of a suite of strong corporate adverts with the same look and feel and with our strapline Excellence with a Purpose helps present a more professional and joined-up image to prospective staff, which in a highly competitive marketplace is essential. It also allows us to achieve some economies of scale by combining Schools and Institutes vacancies under one banner. Profiling the Vice-Chancellor and key staff Newcastle University is an organisation built on people; our students and our staff. Our mission is all about what we are good at but also what we are good

for. To reflect this in our brand it is vital that we are not seen as a faceless Ivory Tower institution. We must bring out the human side of the University and our personality. So, we must use the Vice-Chancellor and senior staff more in media work, in our messaging on the website and in key engagement activities. Putting a face to our research will also build our personality. So, greater focus will be given to video profiles and first-person interviews in publications as outlined in section 4.4. Stories about new appointments and the diversity of our workforce should also be developed to support our recruitment efforts, particularly among the BME community. Painting the Big Picture Promoting the cumulative impact of Newcastle University, such as the total contribution we make to the economy of the city and wider region, or the impact of our research over time, should be part of our narrative. By doing more totalling up numbers and revisiting stories we can show the full extent of what we are achieving. This is not always possible in the media as they are often focused on news making it difficult to articulate a wider story. Instead we should focus on publications and the website to tell our story over time and bring to life the work of the University through key staff and students. The first of a series of brochures articulating our research impact will be the Story of Ageing a compilation of 20 separate interviews with key academics in this field. Using quality photography, this series of The story of ... brochures will provide high-end collateral to send to funders, government and the media. We will also be staging a House of Commons briefing to launch the Ageing brochure and consider the same approach for the other documents once produced. The same approach to story-telling is being taken using video. A documentary video highlighting our unique strengths in key areas of SAgE is being developed into a series which can be added to our website Video Wall. PR befitting a Russell Group University Being clear about what we wont do for PR is just as important as what we will do to build our brand. Quite apart from the fact that TV advertising and Bus Shelter Poster campaigns are expensive and ineffective for a university that recruits nationally and internationally, this kind of overly commercial campaigning does not fit well with the Newcastle University brand. Our core PR strength comes from being a traditional, research university; a member of the Russell Group but with a firm focus on the civic agenda. This means we will behave in a certain way when it comes to our promotional activities.

4.2. Strategic Objective 2: To increase awareness and advocacy of Newcastle University among a range of Target Audiences Internal audience Our staff and students should be our greatest ambassadors. Harnessing the combined power of 5,000 staff, 20,000 students and 140,000 alumni will enable us to spread the message more convincingly and cost-effectively than any advertising campaign or newsletter. Giving staff the inside track on events is important through the daily News Briefing and the fortnightly NU Connections e-newsletter. Regular cascade events such as the Heads of Unit Forum are important and annual Town Hall meetings to support the Societal Challenge Themes should be introduced as a way of continuing to profile progress in Ageing, Social Renewal and Sustainability. Events such as the Celebrating Success evenings and the Christmas Tree Lighting help to motivate and engage staff. An annual State of the Nation video address that can be streamed on the staff intranet from the Vice-Chancellor will provide another opportunity to reinforce some key messages above the all-staff letter that is sent at the start of each Semester. The culture of the organisation can have a major impact on internal communications. To support this, the PR Directorate will work more closely with the HR Directorate and Staff Development Unit to explore ways of improving the systems of engaging and enthusing staff so that our key messages can be relayed effectively. Court, Council and Senate Our governing bodies are important brand evangelists. They need to receive a regular flow of communications from the centre, particularly about breaking news or contentious issues. In addition to receiving the fortnightly NU Connections bulletin, Court, Council and Senate members will be alerted to any high-profile issues affecting the University on email and also through the VCs business report. A systematic approach to inviting Council, Court and Senate members to key events has also been introduced and is overseen by the PR Directorate and Executive Office. This means they will be made aware of key events such as Public Lectures and given the opportunity to attend. For more niche events such as those relating to a particular Societal Challenge Theme, Council and Court members will be invited if they have a particular interest in that area. Thought should be given to particular University activities or initiatives that Court and Council members can support ie signing the Changing Age Charter.

Students Celebrating student success is at the heart of our PR effort but communicating to students en-masse can be a challenge. Working with the Students Union President we are using their effective communication channels to get messages out that are of particular significance to our students. This has included the successful promotion of the Appathon competition which achieved an excellent response from students across the University. To make students more aware of the Universitys latest developments we will introduce news briefing headlines on all campus Plasma Screens, replacing the Sky News ticker-tape from January 2013. Social media is an increasingly important way of communicating with both current and prospective students. The Universitys Official Facebook page launched last year has tended to focused mainly on corporate messaging. Because it was communicating with many different audiences in a very general way it failed to engage with students very effectively. Following a successful pilot over the Summer Visit Days a Newcastle University Students Facebook site has been developed to replace the existing Official site. This page is focused solely on student communication using a more informal, responsive style to answer students queries, create a buzz about the Universitys latest news and to introduce a more 2-way dialogue with our students. This will be rolled-out over the Autumn with specific training for Student Recruitment staff and Student Ambassadors and including cross posting with the Students Union. Business community The business audience learns a good deal about the University from our press activity. However, to foster a deeper understanding and advocacy of the University a more systematic way to engage with the business community should be introduced. A monthly stakeholder e-bulletin which has the same look and feel as NU Connections should be introduced. This will go beyond news and highlight opportunities for businesses to get involved with the University. Regular features about Research and Enterprise Services, Societal Challenge Themes and Science City should feature. We should also consider a buddying scheme where members of EB and other key staff are assigned key businesses and other regional stakeholders to hold regular meetings depending on their area of expertise. For example the Director of PR will have regular meetings with the local media editors. In addition, quarterly stakeholder dinners should be held. Hosted by the VC, these Business Champion dinners would bring together key partners and industry figures from across the region to discuss key issues in an informal setting or bring an external focus to a common goal ie the British Science Festival.

Creating a quality setting where key meetings can be held which captures the history, heritage and excellence of the University will support this. This includes development of a Hall of Fame chronicling key milestones in the Universitys history, major awards and accolades and famous names associated with Newcastle. A more coordinated approach should be taken to our stakeholder management so that we can track all corporate interactions including Business Champions dinners, mail-shots and event attendance. We need to ensure, as far as possible, that key stakeholders are not bombarded with information from all corners of the University. This is particularly relevant to Research and Enterprise Services (RES) and the Societal Challenge Themes where we want to maximise our interactions with business and coordinate better our communications with them. Partners Newcastle University is an active partner in many regional and pan-regional groups such as the Fairness Commission, NE LEP and the N8. Promoting our involvement in these groups helps to reinforce our civic university mission and so strategic PR support will be given in relation to press releases, media handling, presentations and events. Funding Councils It is increasingly important for our funding partners to be able to demonstrate the impact of their support to society. To foster good relations with these partners, due credit should be given in all media activity and we should make it easier for them to tell their story. Funding partners such as EPSRC will be sent a quarterly summary of succinct case studies that can be used in their own media work and also on their website. General Public and Friends Stakeholder events, in particular our public lecture series Insights and lunchtime concerts, are an important way of reinforcing our key messages and to support our engagement objectives. Investment has already been made in the year to enhance the overspill facilities in the Herschel which has increased the capacity of our lectures to an average audience size of 600. It has also improved the quality which is reflected in audience feedback. Through a focus on fewer, bigger name speakers and concert artists in future years we aim to increase the size and diversity of our audiences. The iTunes U Channel has also been a success with downloads increasing steadily since its launch to over 80,000. However, as this is only audio we will look to work with Television Services (TVS) to increase the number of lectures that are filmed and available to download. More focus will be given to promoting key speakers in the press and profiling them on the website and also through social media.

Alumni PR needs to link closely to DARO to ensure our alumni network are kept informed of our latest news and developments. News stories will feature regularly in the AlumnNews monthly bulletin and in annual publications such as Arches and Advance. The PR Directorate will also be involved in the key messages around important corporate issues such as the Societal Challenge Themes. PR support will also be provided to support specific fund-raising campaigns. Media coverage secured for the Promise Scholarships, the Chair of Councils Fund and FMS has had a direct impact on increasing donations and needs to continue with the PR Director providing a strategic overview of DARO opportunities. Profiling alumni that have contributed to the University in other ways not just through donations could also help encourage others to do the same. More effort should be taken to profile our Top 20 alumni with an Excellence for Life insert to be included in the corporate pack which will also feature on our website. A Hall of Fame featuring famous alumni and staff will be developed and displayed within the University. MPs, Peers and Central Government Currently, there is no structured approach to public affairs in the University with no specific directorate or team taking responsibility. While individual academics and staff have understandably established relationships with MPs, Peers and civil servants there is no coordinated oversight of the communications going to these key stakeholders. The development of a central database which captures key contacts should be established and controlled by the PR Directorate. This will allow us to control where key documents such as Ahead are being issued and to manage invitations to key events. In addition, MPs will receive the stakeholder bulletin on a monthly basis. 4.3 Strategic Objective 3: To build a positive media profile regionally, nationally and internationally Research stories and Research Excellence Framework Research breakthroughs and advances are always the most important in securing national and international coverage. In addition to fostering good contacts with individual academics and Schools to ensure they inform the press office about papers being published and conferences attended, we will take full advantage of the REF process to promote our research. Case studies identified through the REF - even those that are not selected for submission will provide good stories for the press office to promote. Societal Challenge Themes Now all three Societal Challenge themes have been launched it is important to keep the narrative going about all three themes working together. Through the establishment of a Societal Challenge communications steering group

regular stories about the progress of the themes will be developed for use internally through NU Connections but also externally in the form of a quarterly stakeholder e-bulletin. Underpinning this will be the development of a comprehensive database for all three themes to use to ensure contacts are maintained and attendees at events are managed. An annual event to mark the progress of all three themes should be staged. PR Campaign for 2014. Creativity and innovation should be the hallmark of our PR efforts. A PR campaign that creates a story in its own right should be rolled out in 2014. Using the infographics technique it should be possible to take research relating to each Societal Challenge Theme and convert that into an eyecatching graphic illustration. Each month throughout 2014 we would issue a press release about the research and an accompanying infographic which would not only attract media coverage but provide stunning visuals for our website. By the end of the year we will have 12 images that can be used in an exhibition and also form creative merchandise opportunities such as a Newcastle University Calendar. Planning for this would need to start in 2012. Focus on Corporate successes In the same way we have unpacked our strapline into a series of Excellence in.... booklets we need to do the same with our news stories. To do this the press team will focus on stories that demonstrate: Student employability and entrepreneurship The student experience (campus investment, sport, volunteering opportunities) Value to the region (Capital investment, economic contribution of students) Widening Participation International reach and reputation Business links Civic University and Engagement These key campaigns with consistent messages help ensure we present a rounded picture of the University. The one constant in all these stories is the human aspect. Bringing press releases to life with examples of people who have benefitted as a result of our work, whether they are students, patients or businesses is vital to our positioning and getting our message across. Third party endorsement from business groups, funders and other opinion formers in press releases and in documents/corporate materials can help reinforce the message. International PR In 2011 the PR Directorate working with the International Office piloted a PR campaign in India using an in-country PR Agency. This project, though modest in budget, has resulted in significant coverage being secured for Newcastle in the Indian media both for Student Recruitment and Corporate Positioning. Tangible results included many direct enquiries about the MBA course as a result of positive press coverage. 10

In the same way NUMed has contracted local PR expertise to help in its recruitment supported by the PR Directorate. This kind of in-country managed PR campaign is the best way to raise our profile in key markets overseas and should be considered in other priority countries identified through the Internationalisation Strategy, avoiding a scattergun approach. Media stars The press office works proactively with production companies and documentary makers to position our academics. Recent successes have included the Young Doctors and Hairy Bikers series. By updating our Experts Guide and developing the Expertly Speaking series of videos we hope to build on this. In addition we will send packs of information about the University on an annual basis to key national editors and organise press tours to make them aware of key academics. For example, a recent press tour in London with Professor Mark Shucksmith generated a good deal of interest and resulted in a number of thought-leadership features in the media. We will build on this. 4.4 Strategic Objective 4: To increase the use of the website and social media in Corporate Positioning Website How the University presents itself on digital media platforms and engages with key audiences is the public-facing strand of the Digital Campus Project. To ensure the University website supports our overall narrative a review of its content and functionality has been carried out. This has revealed that we are not telling our story in the most compelling way with many areas such as the civic University not covered in great depth. The review also highlighted the potential to be more creative on the website using more bold pictures and video content, particularly of our staff and students, to get a sense of the character and personality of Newcastle University. We also need to look at the language we use on the website and understand the customer journey that people take through our site. There is a tendency to organise web information through structures and organisational groups rather than by the information people are looking for. So we need to assume people have no prior knowledge of the University in order to get to the information they need. That said, progress has been made to make key corporate documents more visible and attractive by embedding them in pages and the YouTube channel is now well established.

11

With video being produced right across the University efforts have been made to make these more accessible and visible on the Official YouTube channel. This is about making the most of communications material that already exists but presenting it in a way that it is easier to find and supports the fact that we are one University. The Web strategy is being updated to reflect these review findings and its implementation will be overseen by the Web and Digital Strategy Group chaired by the PVC for Planning and Resources. Social Media This is an area where corporately the University has made a slow start. While some progress has been made with the launch of our Official Facebook and Twitter sites our approach to social media for both student recruitment and Corporate Positioning needs to be addressed. By its very nature Social Media is difficult to control corporately and it can often be counter-productive to try and do so. That said, there needs to be a coordinated approach to developing this increasingly important area. In 2011 a review of our social media presence was carried out and a strategy to develop this important area is now underway. The review revealed the need to develop a personality in our communications through Social Media channels, requiring us to segment our conversations with different audiences particularly with students. Student Facebook and Twitter sites have now been established and successfully piloted during the Visit Days. This student recruitment strand of the social media strand will be developed over the course of the year. How we use Social Media to communicate with journalists has also been reviewed. We will be taking specific action to increase the Universitys online visibility to help improve inbound links to key areas of the University website and assist search engine optimisation. In addition we will proactively monitor influential journalists and publications to seek opportunities to supply expert comment to enhance their stories and build relationships with those journalists. We will also look to proactively contribute through comments and discussions to other influential conversations online on third party sites (news sites, for example) and provide enhanced multimedia content for journalists, bloggers and other key influencers such as funding bodies, think tanks, etc to use directly in their publications and websites. Video Video is an important way to add richness and interactivity to our website. The Universitys TV studios are an excellent resource and are used regularly for media training sessions. To make the most of these sessions the interviews will be recorded for use in a series of talking heads on the website. This Expertly Speaking series of video clips aims again to present the human

12

face of the organisation which is so important in making an emotional connection with Newcastle. This will also raise the profile of our academics amongst journalists who are looking for spokespeople on particular topics. Video will also be used in a number of other projects driven by the PR Directorate: REF In conversation. The development of the REF case studies provides a rich seam of PR opportunities that we need to tap into. Rather than relying on the written word to demonstrate our research impact we should use our academics to tell the story in a series of recorded interviews. By using a studio-interview format researchers will be able to articulate their case studies to form a series of interviews for the website. Newcastle University Asking the Big Questions Debate To support the launch year of Social Renewal a series of TV debates are to be staged. The campaign theme is Newcastle University Asking the Big Questions and this will be brought to life by key academics debating a particular question linked to Social Renewal in the studio which will then be posted on the Social Renewal section of the website. Similar to the US Institute of Management Developments Discuss and Debate blogs, the aim is to generate on-line comment resulting from these discussions and also to attract media interest. Student generated content Our students know best when it comes to communicating with their peers. We need to harness their creativity for both student recruitment and corporate positioning purposes. One way to do this is through supporting them to make their own video promoting Newcastle University. As a starting point we will issue students going on Expeditions with video cameras to document their experiences which again can be used to add interesting content to our website and support our social media activities. 4.5 Strategic Objective 5: To support the positioning of Newcastle as a City of Science Newcastle Science City Following the Strategic Review of Science City there is a positive opportunity to align Science City more closely to the Universitys communications efforts. Effectively an extension to the PR Directorate, NSC Communications will be responsible for promoting University spin-out successes and supporting events which help the Universitys business engagement activity. Using Science Citys substantial CRM system as a starting point we should build up a comprehensive business database so that we can track better our interactions and events to avoid duplication and confusion. This is particularly the case with the Societal Challenge institutes where separate databases exist and we are failing to join-up.

13

In addition the University will have greater involvement and control in the messaging for the Science Central site which will be marketed by NSC. A key role for Science City is to raise the profile of Newcastle as a City of Science. Because of this they will also play a central role in supporting the University in delivering and marketing the British Science Festival 2013. NewcastleGateshead Initiative A place branding exercise to promote NewcastleGateshead as a visitor and inward investment destination is being led by the NewcastleGateshead Initiative. Newcastle University and Newcastle Science City are involved in the steering group for this project to ensure our science strengths and positioning as a student city are promoted fully. A digital media campaign will be launched in late 2012 featuring a video and storyboard about NewcastleGateshead and its key selling points. NGI will also be developing a series of media case studies and an image gallery to help promote the area to national journalists. Here too, the University and Science City are working together to ensure we showcase the best examples. British Science Festival 2013 Hosting the British Science Festival in September 2013 provides an excellent opportunity to showcase our academic strengths to an audience of 50,000+ and the worlds media. By involving our academic community in the development of projects we aim to support the Universitys engagement priorities and build a credible programme. Support will be provided to Newcastle academics to work up proposals for events and particular emphasis will be given to promoting their work. An internal small grants scheme for staff and students to support outreach in the lead up to the Festival, with new collaborations encouraged has also been launched. Ideas Take Flight To gain momentum and raise awareness of the British Science Festival ahead of its arrival in September 2013 we are rolling-out a highly visual, public-facing campaign to get people thinking about science and to stimulate proposals for the Festival. The Ideas Take Flight uses the imagery of the Angel of the North to canvass views from the public, young and old, about how they want to shape the Festival in Newcastle. Postcards and posters will form the basis of this campaign. As part of this we will secure support from the Journal newspaper to give maximum coverage of the campaign throughout the 6-month period.

14

Business engagement The Festival provides an opportunity to build relationships with the business community in the region. Working with Newcastle Science City and the British Science Association we will secure support from industry for the Festival and ensure that these links continue beyond September 2013. While it is the BSAs role to secure sponsorship for the Festival, we will together with Science City - work with businesses to ensure they gain maximum value from the event. This could include hosting a visit to their site, showcasing a new development or technology or working with schools to raise awareness of career opportunities in their sector. 4.6 Strategic Objective 6: To manage the Universitys reputation Freedom of Information Being on the front foot is essential in mitigating the impact of negative news. Strategic oversight provided at EB level helps to prepare for contentious issues and manage the message effectively internally and externally. The PR Directorate are also consulted on all media/pressure group Freedom of Information requests and prepare lines to take and Q&As on specific issues that may impact on the reputation of the University. PR support is also provided to the Emergency Response Team and the Director of PR is now a first-tier contact to offer advice in the event of a major student incident. Media Training While it is impossible to anticipate every reputational issue we can prepare our key staff to answer reporters questions by providing professional media training. The press office runs regular sessions in the Universitys TV studios to enable staff to practice radio and TV interviews. This will be enhanced from Autumn 2012 with bookable sessions run on a quarterly basis for groups of staff. Relationship with the Courier To build a productive relationship with the Courier, the PR Director and Academic Registrar will meet the Editor on a regular basis. This will be an opportunity to raise issues and brief the paper on key stories about the University. To avoid the need for the Courier to request information through FOI, these meetings will be used to address their questions. The press office will meet the entire editorial team when they start in the Autumn and ensure reporters are sent all research stories and invited to photocalls.

15

5. Measurement and evaluation PR, reputation building and strategic positioning is vital to underpinning many of the strategic objectives of Vision 2021. It can have a positive impact on student and staff recruitment, provide a platform for research collaboration and partnerships to flourish and can help evidence our research impact. However, it is difficult to measure the end outcomes of Public Relations activity on the Universitys bottom-line. Instead we will measure the output of PR activity by the following: Volume of media coverage secured in regional, national and international media measured by media mentions for Newcastle ranked against seven comparator universities. Delivery of 1 sustained in-territory PR Campaigns in key international markets each year. Identify stories that demonstrate research impact and prioritise these with the media. To promote REF case studies over the period leading up to the REF in 2015. Deliver an annual series of Insight Public Lectures and Public Concerts and to increase their audience reach. Support the delivery of the British Science Festival 2013. Maximising regional, national and international media coverage and engagement. Support the development and delivery of a fully-integrated Social Renewal campaign. Increase impact of Newcastle Universitys positive results in national and international Leagues Tables. Deliver and manage a series of high-profile corporate events. Increase video content on corporate website and You Tube Channel. Deliver a fortnightly Campus Magazine to all staff, Court, Council and Senate to raise awareness internally of key corporate issues Raise awareness of our Alumni and support DARO in building relationships by identifying and promoting stories about the value of their donations or support for specific initiatives.

Abi Kelly Director of Public Relations 24th August 2012

16