Give Back This Giving Tuesday with Cultivate! 🤝🏼🌟
It’s Giving Tuesday and in honor of the day, we would like to introduce our new social impact initiative, the Roots & Blossoms Fund and uplift a variety of Cultivate clients with impact-driven missions.
The Roots & Blossoms Fund 🎨 🌷
At Cultivate, we believe in the transformative power of storytelling – and we know that the arts play a vital role in shaping the next generation of storytellers. That’s why we’re so excited to announce the launch of the Roots & Blossoms Fund, a new grant initiative dedicated to supporting artistic and cultural programming for Vermont youth.
With the goal of making arts more accessible for young people across the state, and inspired by the “1% for the Planet” model, we’re committing 1% of our net revenue to this fund. Through four key areas of support – Access to the Arts, Arts Education & Literacy, Cultural Community Building, and Creative Expression – the Roots & Blossoms Fund will provide grants of up to $1,000 to nonprofit organizations that foster creativity and cultural exploration for kids ages 0-18.
But that’s not all: along with financial support, we’re offering in-kind services to help these nonprofits share their powerful stories with the world.
If you know a Vermont-based nonprofit dedicated to enriching young lives through the arts, spread the word! The application is open for our 2025 grant cycle until February 21st, 2025.
To learn more and apply, visit the Roots & Blossoms Fund page on our website.
Give Back to Cultivate Clients ✨
Cultivate supports a range of nonprofit clients as well as companies with missions to inspire positive social and environmental change. We’ve compiled a list below with information about each organization and how to learn more to support their efforts.
Barr Hill by Caledonia Spirits 🍸 🐝
Barr Hill fans know that honey is the key ingredient in their spirits products—and giving back to the pollinators that support the production of that honey and food systems globally is a part of their brand mission. Through environmental initiatives such as Barr Hill’s Bee’s Knees Week, Barr Hill gives back by pledging and planting pollinator habitat. In the past eight years of their Bee’s Knees Week initiative, Barr Hill has planted more than 1 million square feet of pollinator habitat.
To learn more about Barr Hill’s Bee’s Knees Week and sustainability mission, visit barrhill.com.
Cold Hollow Sculpture Park 🌳
Located in Enosburg, Vermont, Cold Hollow Sculpture Park is home to 70+ sculptures by artist David Stromeyer. The Park operates as a nonprofit with a mission to ignite visitors’ imagination and serve as a place of creative discovery and expression in Vermont. Cold Hollow Scupture Park provides a free, world-class art experience to all visitors while preserving the art and conserving the land.
Donate or learn more here about supporting the Park through volunteering or sponsoring sculptures.
Community College of Vermont 📚
The Community College of Vermont is a public, not-for-profit institution offering the lowest tuition rates in Vermont. CCV accepts one-time or recurring donations which support the college’s academic and institutional programs for students and staff.
CCV offers academic and support programs to their community of both traditional and nontraditional students and their unique needs. CCV greatly appreciates any and all donations as they work toward their ongoing goal of making higher education accessible for all Vermonters.
Donate to CCV here.
Conscious Alliance 🎵
A nonprofit hunger relief organization, Conscious Alliance unifies bands, brands, artists, and fans to collectively support communities in crisis.
Consider donating to Conscious Alliance this holiday season here or support the organization through the purchase of posters and other swag. All proceeds go toward programming to provide art that feeds.
To learn more about the organization and how to be involved, visit consciousalliance.org.
RunVermont 🏃♀️ 👟
RunVermont is a Vermont-based nonprofit organization offering premier events across the state. The organization supports participants of all abilities and levels, offering a diverse range of programs for all types of athletes.
Registration for RunVermont’s largest event, the M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon & Relay is open now. Register here.
To volunteer, sponsor, or further support RunVermont, learn more here.
Vermont Federal Credit Union 💰
Vermont Federal is helping to run a variety of charitable events for the holidays this time of year. Bring nonperishable food items to each of the following events to help give back to the community:
Feed Your Neighbor event at the Hannaford in Essex Junction, VT - November 23, 2024
Toys for Kids - November 29 through December 20, 2024
Feed a Family, South End City Market in Burlington, VT - December 19, 2024
Visit the Feed Your Neighbor event on-site on November 23 and the Feed a Family event on Devember 19 to donate nonperishables. Vermont Federal will also be collecting toys for Toys for Kids and more nonperishable items for Feed a Family at each of its branches throughout the holiday season.
For more information, visit vermontfederal.org.
Vermont Symphony Orchestra 🎻
Celebrating its 90th anniversary with the 2024/25 season, the Vermont Symphony Orchestra is a cultural cornerstone in the region, enriching communities and the lives of Vermonters statewide. With a commitment to artistic excellence, innovative programming, and community engagement, the VSO has established itself as one of the country’s premier state orchestras.
Donate here to the VSO. For more information about volunteer opportunities with the VSO, visit this site.
ZymoChem 🧬
ZymoChem is breakthrough science for a fossil-free future. Headquartered in San Leandro, CA, with a satellite division in Burlington, VT, ZymoChem envisions a world in which the goods we depend on everyday are bio-manufactured from 100% renewable materials and designed for a sustainable economy.
Learn more about Zymochem’s mission toward a more sustainable future at zymochem.com.
Cultivate Your Holiday Gift List this November 🎁
It’s November and the holiday gifting season is in full swing. Looking for ideas? Look no further! We’ve curated a list of our favorite holiday gifts from Cultivate client brands to inspire your holiday shopping. Take a look at how you can give and give back this season with our clients.
Give
Gift ideas to give to a loved one this holiday season.
Ann Clark Ltd. 🍪
Surprise a baker in your life with new baking gear, or buy supplies to decorate holiday cookies together. With 700+ shapes, Ann Clark’s cookie cutters are a great customizable gift. Try out some classic holiday cookies or customize your baking to your giftee.
Here are some of our favorite trendy baking gifts for the holiday season from Ann Clark:
Roll With It—A classic gift and kitchen staple needed in every baker’s kitchen, Ann Clark’s Perfect Cookie Rolling Pin is the perfect gift to a new baker just starting out their baking journey or an experienced baker in need of new gear.
Make Cookies the Center of Attention—Using Ann Clark’s Centerpiece 2 Pc Set you can create a beautiful themed table spread (that also serves as a sweet treat!) at your Holiday dinner table.
The Edible Outdoors—Designs inspired by mother nature and other outdoor settings continue to stay in style, including flower cookie shapes and woodland creatures like our adorable Garden Gnome shape.
Barr Hill by Caledonia Spirits 🍸
Barr Hill can help you get into the holiday spirit—literally. Gift their award-winning Barr Hill Gin, Barr Hill vodka, or newly released Phyllis Whiskey. Or, take a look at some of their convenient gift packs.
Here are some of our recommendations:
Bee’s Knees Kit—-Barr Hill’s infamous cocktail recipe inside, this kit includes all products and instructions needed to make the delicious classic cocktail.
All The Basics Cocktail Tools Kit—A useful gift for someone looking to try out their bartending skills. This kit includes the essential cocktail-making gear plus some sweet Barr Hill raw honey.
Barr Hill Gin + Bears—The infamous Barr Hill gin gifted with two adorable bear-shaped mason jars.
Cold Hollow Sculpture Park 🌳
Sculptor David Stromeyer, the artistic genius behind Cold Hollow Sculpture Park in Enosburg, Vermont, details his journey as an artist, the Park’s history, and the 70+ sculptures on the Park grounds in his beautiful, 200-page, full color, hardbound book.
“Art Making On The Land” makes for an intriguing gift for Park visitors, artists, or engineers. The book is available for purchase on Cold Hollow’s website here.
Guild of Vermont Furniture Makers 🛏️ 🔨
Vermont’s finest furniture makers offer a range of styles to gift to a loved one to add to a new living space or to spruce up existing feng shui. From beds to seating to sculptures, the Guild offers furniture options for everyone.
Browse the Guild’s available pieces here on their website.
Pitcher Inn 🏨🍴
A simple but meaningful way of showing you care this season, a nice dinner at the Pitcher Inn is a classic gift and a great way to spend some quality time with someone you love. Home to a five-star Vermont dining experience, the Inn offers fine dining and an impressive wine menu.
Learn more about the Pitcher Inn dining experience and make a reservation here.
RunVermont 🏃♂️
Registration for RunVermont’s annual M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon & Relay officially opens on November 1, 2024. Signing up for the event with a workout buddy or loved one is a great gift this holiday season. Gear up now to get outside, get active, and make lasting memories. Register here.
Vermont Smoke & Cure 🥩 🔥
The perfect stocking stuffers for meat-lovers and protein-cravers, Vermont Smoke & Cure’s meat sticks are a delicious holiday gift. Here are some of our favorite gifts from their brand:
Maple Old Fashioned Meat Stick—Vermont Smoke & Cure’s latest innovation in collaboration with WhistlePig Whiskey
Oven Roasted Seasoned Turkey Sticks—A convenient, on-the-go poultry option which is trending in the meat stick world
A Vermont Smoke & Cure Gift Card—Not sure which flavors will suit your giftee best? Consider gifting a gift card so they have free reign this holiday season.
Vermont Symphony Orchestra 🎻 🎼
A perfect gift for a music lover you know—tickets to see a show! VSO has numerous shows happening this month and next that are fun festivities this holiday season. Join Jukebox in November for an audience-curated program, or enjoy traditional holiday music at Holiday Pops and the Brass Quintet performances (both accompanied by choral singers).
VSO’s upcoming shows:
Jukebox: With A Little Help from Our Friends, November 14-16, 2024
Holiday Pops with VSO Chorus, December 6-8, 2024
Brass Quintet and Counterpoint Chorus, December 12-14, 2024
Tickets can be purchased at vso.org.
Winvian 💆🏽
Do you know of someone in need of some rest and relaxation? Consider gifting a spa day at Winvian as a holiday self-care moment. The spa offers a variety of massages and facials to help a special someone rest and unwind this holiday season.
To view Winvian’s spa services and book an appointment, visit their website here.
Give Back
Ways to support noble causes and the Vermont community this season.
Community College of Vermont 📚
As a public, not-for-profit institution offering the lowest tuition rates in Vermont, CCV accepts one-time or recurring donations which support the college’s academic and institutional programs for students and staff.
CCV supports the educational needs of traditional and nontraditional students, offering academic options and support programs to meet the unique needs of its students. CCV greatly appreciates any and all donations as they work toward their ongoing goal of making higher education accessible for all Vermonters.
Donate to CCV here.
Conscious Alliance 🎵
A nonprofit hunger relief organization, Conscious Alliance unifies bands, brands, artists, and fans to collectively support communities in crisis.
Consider donating to Conscious Alliance this holiday season here or support the organization through the purchase of posters and other swag. All proceeds go toward programming to provide art that feeds.
To learn more about the organization and how to be involved, visit consciousalliance.org.
Vermont Federal Credit Union 💵
Vermont Federal is helping to run a variety of charitable events for the holidays this time of year. Bring nonperishable food items to each of the following events to help give back to the community:
Feed Your Neighbor event at the Hannaford in Essex Junction, VT - November 23, 2024
Toys for Kids - November 29 through December 20, 2024
Feed a Family, South End City Market in Burlington, VT - December 19, 2024
Visit the Feed Your Neighbor event on-site on November 23 and the Feed a Family event on Devember 19 to donate nonperishables. Vermont Federal will also be collecting toys for Toys for Kids and more nonperishable items for Feed a Family at each of its branches throughout the holiday season.
For more information, visit vermontfederal.org.
October Client Happenings 🎃 🍁
Fall is officially here and spooky season is just around the corner! 👻 Read on to learn about what Cultivate clients are up to in the month of October.
Ann Clark Ltd. 🍪 🧑🍳
Get into the spooky spirit with Ann Clark’s Halloween cookie cutter shapes, the perfect addition to showcase at a Halloween party, give out to lucky trick-or-treaters, or celebrate the Day of The Dead.
Some Halloween cookie inspo ideas from the Ann Clark team include:
Seasonal cookie arrangements as the centerpiece for a Halloween party table spread with Ann Clark’s Halloween centerpiece set
Traditional Halloween-themed cookies using the Halloween 3 pc set to give out to friends, family, and trick-or-treaters
Customizable Day of the Dead sugar skulls with vibrant colors and designs of your choosing with the Day of the Dead skull shape
Caledonia Spirits 🍸 🍻
Caledonia Spirits welcomes spirits drinkers and Barr Hill fans to enjoy some fall food & bev at the first-ever Fermentation Festival taking place at their distillery on October 19, 2024 at X PM.
Local vendors with a variety of delicious fermented foods will be set up on the distillery’s front lawn. Caledonia Spirits will also be offering a special food and drink menu to attendees, including the release of a new spirit in collaboration with Wildbranch Cider. Come and enjoy the Fall fun!
To stay in the know about more distillery events, check out Barr Hill’s website.
Cold Hollow Sculpture Park 🌳
Cold Hollow Sculpture Park closes for the season on October 14. Make sure to visit while you still can! Park hours are Thursday-Sunday, 11 AM to 5 PM.
Enjoy five decades of artistic works by sculptor David Stromeyer, with 70+ sculptures currently on display on the Park grounds.
Learn more about Cold Hollow Sculpture Park here.
Manchester Music Festival 🎶
This fall, Manchester Music Festival will officially announce the details of its 51st season taking place July 10-August 7, 2025. Get the inside scoop on concert programs, festival performers, and community events. Save the dates!
You don’t want to miss out on this fantastic classical music program next summer. To stay in the know, visit mmfvt.org.
RunVermont 🏃♀️
Registration for RunVermont’s annual M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon & Relay and Half Marathon Unplugged will go live on November 1, 2024. Clear your calendar and gear up this October to sign up early!
Runners looking to participate in a marathon and/or relay can sign up soon to claim their spot in the event taking place in May 2025–all skill levels are welcome. Family and friends are also invited to join in on the fun: Offer to be a volunteer on race day or simply cheer on your athlete from the sidelines!
Learn more about the M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon & Relay here.
Vermont Symphony Orchestra 🎻 🩰
VSO presents “Romeo, Juliet and the Firebird” on October 26, 2024 from 7:30-9:30 PM at The Flynn.
In this program, the VSO explores music from two iconic 20th century ballets. Cameras will also be capturing the orchestra live in action and will broadcast the video on a big screen to immerse the audience into the performance. Music Director Andrew Crust will also lead a discussion on the creation of the pieces, the history of Stravinksy and Prokofiev, and the story of the ballets.
Don’t miss out on this fantastic night of classical music. Tickets are available for purchase here.
Winvian 🌾☀️
The beautiful grounds of Winvian are set for fall foliage season, the perfect backdrop for fall weddings, corporate retreats, and fine dining experiences. Book a spa day, take a cooking class, or enjoy the outdoors this fall at Winvian.
Looking to book a fall getaway of your own? Visit the Winvian website to view all of their event offerings.
Cultivate Welcomes New Public Relations Associate
Champlain College graduate Abbey Berger-Knorr joins expanding public relations firm
Cultivate PR associate Abbey Berger-Knorr at our offices at Hula Lakeside
Cultivate, a public relations agency specializing in media relations, social media, and influencer partnerships, proudly welcomes Abbey Berger-Knorr as public relations associate on its expanding team. Founded in 2019 by CEO Alexandra Tursi, Cultivate serves clients in the realms of arts and culture, health and hospitality, and innovation and social impact.
In her role as public relations associate, Berger-Knorr supports a range of clients with a special focus on arts and culture, leveraging her background in music and media.
Berger-Knorr graduated from Champlain College in May 2024 with a Bachelor of Science in Communication, concentrating in Public Relations and Strategic Communications. Upon graduating, she received the Presidential Award recognizing academic achievement, professional experience, and leadership on campus.
"I'm always on the search for unique stories that 'strike a chord,'" she said. "Supporting clients in effectively telling their stories through public relations and communications initiatives is work that inspires me daily to stay creative, think on my feet, and be a reliable communicator."
Berger-Knorr brings a wealth of experience to her new role. As a student, she served as President of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) Champlain chapter and Executive Director of Maple Street Media, a student-run public relations firm. She also completed internships with Fuse and Junapr, where she honed her skills in creating public relations deliverables and client relations.
"Abbey is a natural storyteller, by profession and passion," said Alexandra Tursi, CEO. "Her diverse background in communications, coupled with her leadership experience and academic excellence, makes her an invaluable addition to our team. She's already landed some incredible and strategic media placements for our clients."
Beyond her professional pursuits, Berger-Knorr is deeply involved in the local music scene. She serves as a Social Media, Outreach, and Production Team Lead & Radio Host for The Big Heavy World Foundation, Inc., where she hosts and promotes a weekly live radio show and affiliated podcast. She also writes, produces, and performs her own music as a singer-songwriter.
Berger-Knorr now works full-time for Cultivate out of the Hula coworking space on Lakeside Avenue, formerly the Blodgett Oven factory.
Cultivate supports a wide range of clients including Ann Clark Ltd, Burlington Baroque, Caledonia Spirits, Champlain Valley Head Start, Cold Hollow Sculpture Park, Community College of Vermont, Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, Guild of Vermont Furniture Makers, Luma Brighter Learning, Manchester Music Festival, The Pitcher Inn, RunVermont, Vermont Symphony Orchestra, Vermont Smoke & Cure, Vermont Federal Credit Union, Winvian, and ZymoChem.
"At Cultivate, we believe everyone has a story worth telling – and that stories have the power to make incredible impact," Tursi said. "We are thrilled to collaborate with such innovative clients to help them get their message out there, whether that's through media coverage, social media, or building new connections."
Cultivate is a proud member of the Women Business Owners Network of Vermont and Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility.
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About Cultivate
Cultivate is a Vermont-based, woman-owned public relations firm founded in 2019 by award-winning and nationally recognized CEO, Alexandra Tursi. Based in Burlington, VT, Cultivate uplifts the stories of clients through meaningful communications across earned and owned media. Services include public relations, social media, influencer relations, content strategy, crisis communications, and media training. Cultivate’s mission is to craft purposeful narratives that drive change and leave a lasting impact—because stories have the power to change everything. Learn more at cultivatepr.co, and follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram.
September is Here with Cultivate! 🍂
Summer is coming to a close and an autumn breeze is in the air. Check out some exciting updates from Cultivate clients for the month of September!
Barr Hill Gin by Caledonia Spirits 🍸 🐝
What’s the buzz, you ask? Since 1974, the numbers of North American bumblebees have fallen nearly 50 percent (Source: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service).
Barr Hill is celebrating Bee’s Knees Week from September 20-29, 2024 to raise awareness for and provide support to pollinators. With over 700,000 square feet of pollinator habitat pledged and planted over the past six years, Barr Hill’s goal now is to reach 1 million square feet of pollinator habitat by the end of the week.
How to support Barr Hill’s Bee’s Knees Week:
Enjoy a Barr Hill Bee’s Knees Cocktail—either at their distillery or at home
Spread the buzz using @barrhillgin and #beeskneesweek in posts and stories on social media
For every cocktail shared, Barr Hill plants 10 square feet of new bee habitat. Additionally, every bottle of Barr Hill sold equals an additional 20 square feet pledged.
Burlington Baroque 🎼
The first-ever Burlington Baroque Festival will take place September 26-29, 2024. Join Juno Award-winning orchestra L’harmonie des saisons, internationally acclaimed soloists, and some of Vermont’s best vocal talent in 5 performances of exceptional early music repertoire.
All performances will take place at The Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Burlington, VT. Buy tickets here. Read about the festival on Early Music America for more information!
Community College of Vermont 📚 🎒
The Community College of Vermont begins its Fall academic year, starting September 3, 2024. A range of Vermont students from high-schoolers enrolled in pre-college programs, working professionals working toward a degree, and 2+2 Pathway students will continue their academic journeys this month. Watch this inspiring story we placed about CCV’s Credit for Prior Learning Program!
Best wishes to CCV students, faculty, and staff on a successful school year!
RunVermont 🏃♂️
RunVermont will host its 11th Annual Island Vines race on September 15, 2024, at Snow Farm Vineyard. Running options include a 10K, 5K, and Half-Mile Kids Fun Run.
Registration includes finish line chip timing, courses measured to USATF certification standards, a free Island Vines glass, a food truck ticket, a drink ticket, awards for winners, and post-race music/entertainment. Register here.
Vermont Smoke & Cure 🥩🍴
September 23 is National Snack Stick Day! Celebrate the day and get your snack on with Vermont Smoke & Cure.
VS&C will be launching an exclusive product on September 23 made in collaboration with WhistlePig Whiskey: its Maple Old Fashioned Meat Stick. This new product creates a one-of-a-kind cocktail-inspired snack experience! Only available for a limited time.
As a 2024 Taste for Life Food Essentials Award Winner, VS&C’s meat stick varieties serve as a healthy on-the-go snack option—they are free from antibiotics, hormones, artificial colors, preservatives, and artificial flavors, and are also gluten-free.
Vermont Symphony Orchestra 🎻
Vermont Symphony Orchestra heads into its fall season with two performances on September 27 and 28, 2024 featuring Béla Fleck and American Excellence. This all-American performance features virtuoso banjoist Béla Fleck and composer Adolphus Hailstork.
Don’t miss out on phenomenal classical music performed by Vermont talent! Buy tickets to the Burlington, VT performance here or the Rutland, VT performance here.
🌞 Happy August from Cultivate! 🎉
To kick off this month, we've compiled a list of exciting new products, events, and updates from some of our amazing clients at Cultivate. Dive in to see what they’re up to!
Ann Clark Ltd. 🍪
Celebrate the 2024 Paris Olympic Games with Ann Clark Ltd., America's beloved cookie cutter and baking supply company! They've crafted a Paris Summer Games cookie cutter set, perfect for hosting a watch party. Available on Amazon, these cookie cutters are sure to add a delicious touch to your celebrations as you cheer on Team USA! 🇺🇸
Barr Hill Gin 🍸🐝
Join us for Barr Hill's second annual Royal Jelly Cocktail Competition on August 25th! Bartenders from across the Northeastern United States will compete to craft the best Bees’ Knees-inspired cocktail using Barr Hill gin, lemon, and honey. This event is a precursor to Barr Hill’s Bees’ Knees Week, dedicated to raising money and awareness for pollinator habitats.
Attend in person at Barr Hill’s distillery in Montpelier, VT. Tickets available here. Read about the event on Bevnet for more details!
Burlington Baroque 🎻
Burlington Baroque is gearing up for its inaugural Burlington Baroque Festival from September 26-29, 2024, promising four days of phenomenal music!
Juno award-winning period instrument orchestra L’Harmonie des Saisons, internationally acclaimed soloists, and Vermont vocalists unite to re-invigorate the community with Baroque classics and Baroque renditions of Beatles songs. All concerts will be at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Burlington, VT. Get your tickets here.
Cold Hollow Sculpture Park 🎨🌳
Join Cold Hollow Sculpture Park for an artist-in-residence talk with Stephanie Cardon on August 24 from 2-4 PM. The event will showcase Cardon’s work, highlighting the emotional and social impact of ecological loss and climate change.
Cold Hollow Sculpture Park invites you to attend this special event. RSVP for free here.
RunVermont 🏃♀️
Get active with RunVermont’s Summer Six Pack Series, with two dates in August and one in September. The series features 5k races in the Burlington area, with post-race drinks, meals, music, and community bonding. Walkers and runners are welcome!
August 7: SpareTime in Colchester
August 21: Barr Hill in Montpelier
September 4: Switchback Brewery in Burlington
Participation is $25 per race, with proceeds benefiting RunVermont’s youth programs. Register here.
Vermont Federal Credit Union 🎒
Vermont Federal Credit Union is partnering with NBC5 for the annual “Class Act” school supplies drive. Donate new school supplies at any Vermont Federal branch until August 24 to support local children’s education—every little bit helps!
Vermont Federal is committed to community support and strives to regularly support programming that gives back to the Vermont community.
Stay tuned for more exciting updates from Cultivate throughout August!
Free Influencer Brief Template
Element #1: Brand Introduction
Take time to introduce creators to your brand, history and context for this specific campaign.
Element #2: Campaign Overview
This will give creators a good understanding of many key things, such as what the brand is all about, the product’s or service’s description, the target audience and what the brand wants to achieve. Include key products or services to feature and any other specific campaign features and details.
Element #3: Campaign Objectives
It’s good practice to dive deeper into your objectives in order for the content creators to understand the reasons behind your campaign, and how they can help you achieve them. You should also know what metrics you are tracking and how. If the creator needs to include a tracking code that needs to be made clear.
Element #4: Ideal Creator Type
By stating what types of creators you want to work with, you help foster the right fit from the start. This will save precious time from having to reject creators who are in a different niche than the one you’re looking for.
Element #5: Content Style and Channels
Deciding which social media platforms to go for will play a vital role in your campaign’s outcomes and the influencer content you leverage, no matter what content format you decide is suitable for your campaign.
Element #6: Key Campaign Messages
Clarify the 3-5 key messages you want your creators to get across to their audiences.
Element #7: Content Requirements
Technical, photo/video, and copy requirements are all about details that creators should be aware of when making a piece of content for a brand. We recommend specifying these requirements up front in an influencer brief to save time for both you and the creators from making content that doesn't work for you. Example: Within the first 10 seconds of a video “Sponsored by” language must be included.
Element #8: Do’s and Don’ts
Expressing what your ideal campaign should look like is important for both you and the creators. You need to be details and specific when stating what creators should do and what they should avoid when creating content for you.
Element #9: Timeline and Process
Every brief should include a clear timeline. This means letting creators know about deadlines for the deliverables, so you can be proactive and have enough time to make any revisions, if needed. You should also define your processes for receiving and reviewing content, and any content expiration dates.
Element #10: Call-to-action
Including a CTA in your brief will not only drive better results for your campaign, but will also make your objectives more clear to creators.
Public Relations & Social Media Trends for 2023
As we dive into 2023, the team at Cultivate sees these major trends for public relations and social media programs:
While we should be in the continual practice of evaluating our process, perspective, and approach, there is nothing like entering a new year to inspire renewed thinking.
As we dive into 2023, the team at Cultivate sees these major trends in public relations and social media:
Earned media’s continued rise in importance vis-a-vis paid or sponsored media. Public trust in organizations has never been more critical. Earned media offers what paid cannot — the opportunity for a credible, external endorsement of a brand. Add to that smaller ad budgets and mounting challenges in the paid media world, and it’s never been a better time to reconsider your communications mix.
Expanding breadth of what public relations is. What excites us about public relations at this moment in time is its expansion. Yes, it’s traditional media relations — but it is so much more. It’s strategic partnerships; it’s collaborations with influencers and content creators; it’s community relations. We are truly embracing the “public” in public relations.
Growing importance of a crisis communications skillset. With what seems like increased frequency, there’s a new brand crisis every news cycle - and PR professionals at all levels need to be prepared to counsel their clients strategically. That means crisis scenario planning and media training as well as individual skills in decisiveness, adaptability, self-control, empathy, and perseverance.
Moving beyond “doing it for good PR.” Brands started facing a true reckoning at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic with massive calls for transparency, meaningful action, and a goodbye to corporate social responsibility as window dressing. The best PR pros know how to support clients in building and communicating impact programs with real-world benefit.
Navigating a social media upheaval. As Facebook and Twitter face big challenges, new social media channels are on the rise (TikTok, anyone?). Another trend? Brands choosing to be “anti-social” (See Lush). It’s time to evaluate your social media program, assess where your audience is, ask yourself why you are there, and adjust your strategy.
Providing IRL brand experiences. In 2022, we saw a big shift towards travel (coming out of the pandemic) and a consumer desire for real-life experiences. It’s not all digital! As PR and social media pros, we can creatively strategize how to use our digital channels to bring people to fantastic real-world experiences, then inspire them to share those experiences in turn as a means of brand ambassadorship, advocacy, or UGC.
Setting the stage for a meaningful metaverse. It may be years off, but the metaverse is taking shape. Now is the time to build it with communications ethics in mind. It’s also a time for brands to consider there own future role in the metaverse. The possibilities are provocative, the pitfalls could be many.
That’s what’s on our radar for 2023. What’s on yours? Do any of these trends resonate with you? We’d love to hear your perspective. Something that is always on trend is a good two-way conversation.