PR Handbook 2023

PR HANDBOOK

LOVES GOOD NEWS

INTRODUCTION

Everyone Active’s PR team is all about ‘getting things in the news’, right?

Well, yes, that’s true. The PR team is of course firmly focused on securing positive coverage across the media, but there’s a bit more to it than that.

Just to give you an idea (and while we have your undivided attention), here’s an overview…

We draft everything from press releases to social media posts, advertorials to speeches, prompts for front-desk colleagues to signs hanging up in the changing rooms.

We act as a go-between for company and media, organising interviews and preparing interview briefings, as well as proactively seeking opportunities for fresh coverage.

We run PR campaigns such as Everyone is Family, which raise the profile of EA, our facilities and activities, as well as coordinating the hugely successful Sporting Champions scheme.

We play a key role in organising open days and booking and managing the talent which appears, alongside drafting PR plans to submit as part of new tender bids.

We also try to educate colleagues on what PR is, why you should care about it and how it can make a difference to all Everyone Active sites.

In short, we do a fair bit, and we are here to help you. And that’s what this handbook is all about – a handy reference guide for you and your sites to answer any queries you may have around PR.

We hope it comes in useful and as always, if you have any questions, please do let us know. Enjoy!

The PR Team

• To attract new customers

• To drive company revenue

• To help Everyone Active achieve its corporate objectives

• To raise the profile of Everyone Active

• To raise the profile of centres

• To inform local communities what facilities, activities and schemes are available in centres

• To tell our side of the story and influence the way people talk about us

• To help our cause when bidding for new tenders

• To help us recruit new employees

Timeliness

Newness

Large investment Community impact

Surprise Celebrities

Shareability

Talking points

Pictures Positivity

Progress / landmarks

Powerful statistics

Notable successes

Human interest

Compelling quotes

High resolution photograph

Who is involved in the story?

What is happening?

When is it happening?

Where is it taking place?

Why is it happening?

EXISTING SITE

• Building of new facilities

• Adding of selected new activities

• Anniversary of opening of new pool/fitness suite

POSITIVE STEPS

• to reduce carbon footprint

• to reduce gender gap

• to reduce health inequalities

A NNOUNCEMENTS

• Large-scale/ elite sports events

• Charity events

• Successful Quest assessments

• Award nominations /wins

OTSUC M ER OFFERS

• Free memberships for Parkinson’s users

• Free access for Armed Forces for a weekend

SPORTING CHAMPIONS

• Launch of scheme in contract

• Athletes accepted on to the scheme

• Athletes supporting EA events & initiatives

MILESTONES

• Swim scheme passes

3,000 members

• 10million people visit leisure centre

• Build updates

• Announcement of new operator

• Handover of keys from council to EA

• Preview of opening day

• Opening day review

• Customer footfall in opening week

• Preview and review of open day

• Anniversary of first year open

Everyone is Family

A campaign to celebrate parents and families – in all forms – and address the trials and tribulations of balancing life changes with maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

The second year of this campaign in 2022 saw us celebrate another summer of families being active together, taking inspiration from the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

Everyone is Family aims to inspire families to try out different activities together – both in and outside of our centres.

Age is Just a Number

Age is Just a Number takes place in November and aims to encourage people over the age of 65 to be active.

The campaign highlights our older members who are very active to inspire the age group, the majority of which does not achieve the recommended amount of weekly activity.

Sporting Champions scheme

The Sporting Champions scheme supports up-and-coming, talented athletes by providing them with free access to our training facilities across the country.

The scheme holds mentoring sessions covering a range of topics, offering advice and support on any challenges the athletes may encounter throughout their sporting career.

The scheme is fronted by Olympic silver medallist and broadcaster Colin Jackson. We now also work with a panel of ‘Elite athletes’ who mentor and guide participants on the programme.

Our Elite athletes for 2023-24 are: Lauren Steadman (paratriathlon), Jessica and Jennifer Gadirova (gymnastics), Richard Kilty (sprinter), Kadeena Cox (Paralympic athlete), Maisie Summers-Newton (Paralympic swimmer), Lutalo Muhammad (taekwondo).

• Influencers help to raise the profile of their local centres by using our facilities and posting about their experiences on social media.

• The PR team liaises with influencers to take part in campaigns such as Everyone is Family.

• We ask influencers to sign up for pay-as-you-go membership through the Everyone Active website. We then pass on their membership IDs, so sites can ensure they get their activities free of charge.

Influencer management

OUR CAMPAIGNS INFLUENCERS

Please ensure you have a dedicated colleague to greet the influencer on arrival and show them around.

This should be the influencer’s ‘go to’ if they have any queries. It is important we create a welcoming environment and ensure influencers are getting the most out of their visit.

Please ensure your social media manager is sharing the influencer’s content on your local pages.

CRISIS COMMS

What is a crisis?

A crisis is a situation that can cause harm to a business, with each individual crisis posing a different level of potential impact. No matter what the situation, PR plays a key role in ensuring customers are informed while minimising negative publicity, helping to alleviate the crisis as quickly as possible.

PR’s aim in these instances is to eliminate or, at least, restrict the reputational damage caused to Everyone Active.

Depending on whether the crisis focuses on a business-wide issue or a site-specific issue, we would take different approaches.

Site specific - examples

• Breakage of a swimming pool floor

• Temporary closure of a soft play area due to poor hygiene standards

• Misconduct of a colleague

Business specific - examples

• Rising energy costs

• Data breach caused by hackers

• Significant financial loss for SLM

What happens in a businessspecific crisis?

• PR and comms is drafted by the PR team and sent to Group Manager/Director level for sign-off

• The approved PR and comms is then shared for National and Trade/Regional PR Managers to use as appropriate

• Depending on the timescale of the crisis, PR and comms could be issued immediately, or put to one side for use as and when

• The PR team will liaise with the relevant colleagues/clients in advance of any PR and comms being sent

What should I do in a site-specific crisis?

• Brief your regional PR at the earliest opportunity – this is critical as they will need time to gain signoff on copy from stakeholders

• The PR team will draft PR and comms templates as necessary. This could include a social media statement, e-comms, a comment for media and a newsflash banner for the website. App and push notifications may also be sent out, while on-site colleagues may be given a script to use when responding to face-to-face customer enquiries

• PR will then seek approval from the contract manager and client on the drafted copy. In a more serious incident, the statement will need to be escalated to Group Manager/Director level for sign-off

• PR will liaise with Everyone Active’s direct communications and marketing teams and the client to ensure any PR and e-comms is released in a timely fashion

• In the event of any media enquiries, the PR team will be working to hard deadlines set by journalists, making it vital to gather information quickly and to respond in a timely manner

• The template statement may need to be tweaked depending on the journalist’s question/s

Broadcast interviews

We would deal with a broadcast enquiry differently to a print media enquiry.

While press can be provided with a written statement, broadcast will often seek a colleague interview.

If we were to use a colleague for a broadcast interview, we would provide a detailed brief of likely questions and detail our stance in proposed answers.

In certain situations, we may push back on broadcast requests and say we are issuing only a written statement, rather than providing someone for interview.

BURNING QUESTIONS

Do I need to contact the PR team if contacted by media about a story?

Yes. If you are approached by media, immediately direct them to the PR team, no matter how positive or negative the story appears.

This is to ensure the process is managed properly. It is incredibly important that Everyone Active controls the process and focuses on sending the right messages out.

I want more positive PR for my site but am not sure what to do. What are my next actions?

Talk to your regional PR manager. They will be able to advise how to maximise positive PR for your site. There will probably be more opportunities than you realise!

If you think you have a positive PR story, contact your regional PR manager, providing a brief overview, and they will advise on what to do next.

How much notice should I give

the PR team in advance of an event which we would like some PR around?

There is not really such a thing as too much notice, so the answer is, as much as you can.

Then the PR team will be able to advise on when is best to release any PR for maximum exposure, as well as drafting content and getting the relevant sign-offs.

There is a problem at my site and our swimming pool/fitness suite/ soft play area is closed. Do the PR team need to know?

It is crucial for the PR team to be in the loop with what is happening at sites, and the more serious the issue, the more important it is for us to know.

The PR team plays a central role in any reactive PR, e-comms and social media and being informed of any issues from sites is vital.

What is the process around filming and photography at our

site?

If sites receive a request for filming or photography from an external source, please contact your regional PR manager and state the details of the request with the site/s involved.

If PR receive the request, we will contact the relevant contract managers and general managers.

How many positive PR stories should my site/contract be aiming to secure per month?

There is no set count. Some months will naturally be busier than others, depending on what you have going on.

Can I book talent for my open day/site event and tell the PR team later?

In short, no. The PR team is central to the booking of talent for events and should be involved from the preliminary conversations to the moment the celebrity is booked.

It is important that the whole process is conducted through the PR team so we can ensure there will be an appropriate line-up of talent at your event.

Do I need to keep the PR team in the loop with marketing activity?

Yes. It’s useful for the PR team to be aware of the marketing activity being carried out so we can support with PR where appropriate.

We are getting a lot of criticism on a local newspaper web page/ local social media pages. Can we respond to

it on that page?

We only respond to criticism/customer complaints which are on our own centre pages. With sensitive issues, it is best to notify your regional PR manager and they can draft any posts necessary, ensuring the right messages are communicated.

OPEN DAYS Overview

Open days are a great opportunity for EA to showcase our facilities, either when launching a new centre or when celebrating an anniversary or similar

If we have a new centre, these are typically held either on the official day of opening or within the first month, when any minor issues have been ironed out

PR role

The PR team plays a big role in the organisation and running of the event. From booking talent and managing them on the day, to generating positive media coverage and managing media interviews with the EA team and celebrities

Process

• Please inform your PR contact as soon as open day discussions start taking place. This ensures a smooth process moving forward, and start to think about who we might want in attendance from a talent perspective. Typically, this would be from 3-6 months before

• Please discuss a budget for talent and let the PR team know so we can establish who might be suitable. We will take into account budget, demographic and key USPs of the centre when sourcing talent

• We will gather some options to discuss with the site team and the council where necessary. Ideally, we would want to be reaching out to athletes/celebrities at least two months before an event depending on how high profile they are

• We will confirm costs with site and then book the celebrity in

• We can also source photographers at this point

• Approximately two months before an event, we can look at any community engagement activities that we may wish to host, such as school drawing competitions, social media competitions etc

• Roughly three weeks before the event, we would issue a press release to include details of the day, who will be attending and how people can register. At this point we would also invite press to attend and take any requests for media interviews either on the day or beforehand

• We will put together briefing documents for any celebrities attending the event. This includes a running order of the day, information about the site/EA, notes for any public speaking and any questions or information for press interviews. These are typically sent out 1-2 weeks ahead of the event. Photography briefs will also be created

• VIP tours – if it’s a new site, we can help coordinate VIP tours for local councillors and key community members. This is typically held the day before the official opening

• At the open day, a member of the PR team will be on hand to look after the booked talent and ensure they are in the right place at the right time

• Post event we will issue any professional photos to media with a post event press release where appropriate

• We can also look at longer-term partnerships with local bloggers following the event to sustain a ‘buzz’ around the opening

Sporting Champions

Sporting Champions can also play an important role at open days.

Please let us know if you require any Sporting Champions at an event as soon as possible. Due to competitions, training schedules and other commitments, it is imperative we give them plenty of lead time.

We will source and compile a list of most appropriate Sporting Champions from our database. This could include local athletes on the scheme, or our panel of Elite athletes (who will incur an additional cost).

Sporting Champions can assist with running activities on the day, such as a Big Splash event or taster sessions in their sport.

They can also be available for media interviews.

Please note some will ask for travel expenses to be covered.

Lunch should always be provided at an all-day event for Sporting Champions and any talent. This is sorted by the team on site.