Meet Hannah

“It’s probably the best thing I’ve ever done!” That’s how our junior web designer, Hannah, describes her decision to embark on her Level 3 Software Development Technician apprenticeship – a decision, we must add, that resulted in a distinction. 

Three years later, Hannah is a key cog in Cornerstone’s web team, revelling in the breadth of clients she gets to work with; loving her place among the wider Cornerstone family and hardly able to contain her excitement at the prospect of adding new skills to her repertoire.

In fact, Hannah is another fine example of how you can develop yourself and a career via an apprenticeship, especially when it’s backed up with the sort of help and encouragement, she acknowledges she received from everyone at Cornerstone.  

No questions ever went unanswered, no requests for help were ever ignored and mini projects set by the boss (he reckons he knows a thing or two about websites!) helped her with her college assignments. 

We’re proud of what she’s achieved, and it’s fair to say, Hannah is proud to be a Cornerstonian (if that’s a word – it should be if it isn’t). 

Here’s her story in her own words… 

1. Trust and artificial intelligence

Let’s begin our journey not far from where we’ve just come from, with ethics and transparency.

Trends often originate from a combination of social and cultural influences, and evolving consumer preferences – of which trust is about as important as it gets.

Greenwashing, for example, is no longer tolerated by consumers. They want the real deal, so don’t try and spin it any other way. Give them the real deal – the targeted authenticity we spoke of above – and it will be repaid with trust and consumer loyalty.

Trust has been thrust into the spotlight by a trend that shows no sign of abating – artificial intelligence.

If AI was human (no cynical comments about it’s only a matter of time), it would have a severe personality disorder, a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, as it were.

The Dr Jekyll version has the potential to be a helpful tool for PR professionals, automating certain tasks, that in turn, creates more time for other important matters such as strategising and building stronger relationships with our clients.

The Mr Hyde version, on the other hand, is where fake news can be created and proliferated. Add in deepfake AI and Mr Hyde can be a really nasty piece of work. At its worst, it has the potential to be a PR disaster, so if your business or brand falls foul, our crisis management playbook is always ready and primed.

2. Social media, video and podcasts

Social media is a perennial favourite with the trendsetters and this year is no exception – with a particular focus on the waning popularity of Facebook and the emergence of BlueSky, the relatively new X (formerly Twitter) alternative.

Indeed, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) has set the tone for the industry by ditching X in favour of the BlueSky platform, citing ‘growing concerns over declining engagement, platform governance, and the proliferation of misinformation’.

One platform not waning is LinkedIn, which remains the mainstay of business related social media comms, and one we utilise to great effect for many of our clients, particularly those in the B2B arena.

As PR professionals we choose our target audiences carefully, so Gen Z favourites such as Instagram and Tik Tok are increasingly being utilised for PR purposes.

And speaking of Insta and Tik Tok, that brings us to another trend for 2025 – the growth of video and audio content.

Video and podcasts are already well established tools in the PR toolkit, and we’re expecting that popularity to grow even more in 2025.

Videos are a great method of storytelling, becoming even more popular as the expectations for polished productions values give way to more natural, authentic content.

A survey by Hub Spot has shown that 54% of consumers wanted to see more video content from a business or brand.

Overall, social media is the new heavyweight champion of the PR world, enabling us not only to tell our stories – particularly breaking news and ongoing situations – but to encourage two-way communication between a business and/or brand and its customers/followers.

3. Influencers and the growth of paid media

Still in the social media and digital arenas, influencers will continue to, well, influence in 2025.

Only last month (November 2024) CNN reported that nearly 40 per cent of Americans under 30 now get their news from influencers, whether they are journalists or not. We’re working on the widely acknowledged theory that where the US leads, the UK follows.

Shrinking newsrooms across the globe, mean we as PR professionals, are always alert to the lateral thinking necessary to disseminate our content. The days of the ‘press release’ are not yet numbered, but the influence of traditional media is in decline, as those statistics from the States illustrate.

It’s no surprise then, that another growing trend is paid media, particularly among to B2B publications. Earned (free) coverage is still a thing, but less so as the paid advertorial becomes more common.

Here at Cornerstone, we ensure our PR strategies include publications and platforms that are both editorially led (you take your chances of earning coverage) and those offering paid-for coverage.

Meet Jess

Our Head of Digital, Jess is a fine example of how Cornerstone nurtures its people, helping them to be the best they can.

Jess’ place on our Senior Management Team is a far cry from her first role here as an Account Executive back on 2017, a grand title for what really was a Jess-of-all-trades, answering the door and making the brews among her many day-to-day jobs.

But as the agency grew, so did Jess’ experience and knowledge of marketing, which piqued her interest in all things digital.

Seizing the chance to take responsibility for our digital operations was a no-brainer when the opportunity arose, and from there the journey began.

It’s been a steep learning curve, not least getting to grips with management skills, of which Jess had none!

But thanks to our extensive training opportunities, and David’s support, here she is helping to guide Cornerstone through some of the most successful times in our 17-year history.

Watch the video and hear from Jess herself as she recounts her early days, tells of what it’s like to work at Cornerstone and her favourite moment – and it wasn’t just about the cocktails!

We believe that everyone, especially those with disabilities, should be able to access the online world

An estimated 16.1 million people in the UK had a disability in 2022/23, according to the very latest figures available from the UK government – representing almost one-in-four (24%) of the total population.¹

The likelihood of someone being classed as having a disability rises with age. According to the statistics, 11% of children were disabled, compared to 23% of working age adults and 45% of adults over the current state pension age of 66. Of those, at least one-in-five have a long term illness, impairment or disability.²

Awareness of disabilities, coupled with the desire for a fairer, more inclusive society have seen significant shifts in attitudes over the years, with legislation governing accessibility playing a major role.

Next year marks another milestone in that shift with the introduction of the European Accessibility Act (EAA).

The Act mandates that key products and services sold or provided within the EU meet standardised accessibility requirements, promoting inclusivity and removing barriers that affect people with disabilities.

So, why could this be important to your business?

¹ House of Commons Library  ² Department for Work and Pensions

Meet Gill

Cornerstone is a place of possibilities and one of the best examples of how they can open up opportunities that benefit the business and staff alike is Gill, our PR Manager.

Gill joined Cornerstone in a consultative capacity in 2018 and then became a full time PR and copywriter in 2020, later becoming PR Manager.

That in itself is career progression to be proud of, which Gill has achieved with unstinting professionalism and enthusiasm (especially for the Tikki bar at our legendary summer barbecue).

But what it also illustrates is that here at Cornerstone, the growth of the business and the growth of our people is intrinsically linked.

As Gill explains in this video, as the opportunities came along we – and she – embraced them. They are still coming and together we are still embracing them. Long may that continue.

Now she has her sights set firmly on more success – for the PR department, for Cornerstone and our clients, and also for that Tikki bar!

Collaboration is at the heart of success

If you look at any of the major gains and successes within the industry, they come from collaboration.

There are generally two camps when it comes to innovations like this. One is that we work together and help each other succeed, and the other is that some will aim to protect and defend their position, at the expense of project success, goals and ultimately the health of the nation.

We, and many others we work with, choose the former, as opposed to the latter. It’s a more exciting, forward thinking way to progress, and one that helps change the nation’s health and wellbeing for the better.

Recently speaking with a number of partners across the UK and internationally, it’s exciting to hear how willing people are to partner, share ideas and develop their own API integrations to work seamlessly with Gladstone or wider systems, in order to reduce health inequalities, drive participation and form a long standing, reciprocal partnership that drives long term success.

Imagine tracking a member for their lifetime, across systems, automations and life stages. The possibilities are endless.

The first thing someone is likely to say in response to this is ‘you’re chasing utopia’. The reality, however, with the right systems, intent and buy in, is this is genuinely possible.

Imagine a child on a swimming programme being signed up, and then tracked against that membership number for life.

With the right preference data, insights and tracking, it’s a genuine possibility. And what’s better, you can monitor the health of your members, and the population over time, and track if they’re getting healthier, or not.

This might seem like a pipe dream, but it’s a big possibility that buy in from systems providers, and those provisioning robust, modern day APIs are now making possible.

If you think of big commercial players across the globe, they’re already doing it (think Apple, Amazon, Ikea, Microsoft etc), so we should surely be taking learnings from those leading the way, and adopting what’s possible, and commercially sensible to drive and push for?

Imagine being able to predict someone’s buying behaviour before it happens, and actually positively impact that for health outcomes.

This is some deeper, more exciting stuff. Thanks to the joy of data collection and aggregation, coupled with the right AI technology, some serious strides forward can be made in tackling the industry accepted attrition rate, a figure that’s bothered me since day one of being involved in the industry.

The beauty of data collection and AI is that we can anticipate what members are doing, and are likely to do within their buying behaviour, and positively influence this over time to reduce attrition rates, increase brand loyalty, and ultimately improve customers’ health and wellbeing. Everyone wins.

Meet The Team: Nigel

Our PR and copywriter Nige (or Nigel if it’s a Sunday) encapsulates the Cornerstone ethos – always striving to do the best he can for our clients.

From being a cub reporter in Rossendale, via editing a daily paper in Belfast, to working as a journalist for one of the biggest names in retail, it’s fair to say Nige has been around the block. He’s seen a lot, done a lot and learnt a lot, but says he’ll never stop learning.

And that, dear reader, is what makes Nige and Cornerstone so special. He and we never rest on our laurels!

His passion for words know no bounds and as he says in this short video, he can turn his hand to whatever’s needed; smashing a client’s PR requirements, website writing, campaign creatives – when it comes to using words to create impact and engagement, he’s your man.

Nige is part of our PR department led by manager Gill. The pair have worked together on and off for many years and are Cornerstone’s answer to TV’s Kirsty and Phil, always bickering with a friendly rivalry that pushes them both to be the best they can.

Watch the video to hear from the man himself, and as you can see from the ending, he’s much better at writing than he is at speaking!

New client acquisitions

We’re pleased to announce that multiple pharma brands spanning over the counter (OTC), pharmacy-only and prescription medicines have joined our agency’s roster of existing clients in the pharmaceutical sector.

As well as pharmaceutical brands, we also work with a number of B2B clients including Reginox UK, the UK arm of the Netherlands-based sink and tap manufacturer and supplier, which has its UK headquarters in Cheshire.

Meet our Steve from the Print Room!

Cornerstone isn’t only steeped in quality; we have character too – and one of the biggest is Steve from our Print Room! 

In fact, Steve personifies both. 

A talented artist (his work adorns several walls at our office) who went to art school in his 30s, he’s also enjoyed a long career in wide format print, signage and installations. 

He first joined a signage company in Stockport with the intention of staying a ‘couple of years’ but ended up spending 18 years there. 

But, as Steve says, things happen for a reason and that’s where he first started working with Sam, our Print Room Manager. They both moved on to other firms, but Sam was soon in touch again when he joined Cornerstone, encouraging Steve to join him. The rest, as they say, is history. 

“I’ve never been happier in a job,” says Steve.  

Why is that?  

Watch the video and hear from the man himself – one who combines humour, humility and the desire to provide our clients with the highest quality of work and service.

How do you create a successful eCommerce website though that does more than just sell?

Before we embark on growing understanding of developing a successful eCommerce website, we want to understand what makes an eCommerce website?

Online eCommerce as we know it today started a few years after the inception of the worldwide web when, in 1994, an online book shop, Book Stacks Unlimited, opened their Internet shop Books.com. This was a few short years before Amazon was founded, but by the mid-90s major marketplaces like eBay and Amazon started to make themselves known. Online eCommerce payment systems like PayPal then followed in 1997. Though they were online, business was not booming. Many were sceptical of the new online eCommerce trade, cautious of scams and fraud. So, improving customer experience and instilling confidence in their users was the obvious solution to increasing sales, and a tactic still employed by eCommerce website owners today.

In its most basic form, an eCommerce website can be defined as a business model that facilitates online sales.

An eCommerce website can be easily identified by its features very similar to physical shops; the ability to browse products, arrange delivery, and pay online.

3. User Experience (UX)

Once you’ve understood every goal your eCommerce website needs to facilitate, you can start mapping out the structure of your website with user experience (UX) front-of-mind.

UX focuses on the usability and help to make websites and apps more intuitive, especially when it comes to the number one way-finder within a user journey: the navigation.

Clear, well-structured navigation menus make it easier for the user to find the products they’re looking for, as well as positioning related products in front of them to increase your chance of up or cross selling.

UX can also streamline the checkout process, allowing customers to make purchases quickly.

Ultimately, starting your eCommerce web or app development with a robust UX strategy and wireframes will help to give your customers the best possible experience and increase your conversion rates and revenue.

12. Monitoring results and reporting

By analysing web traffic, behaviours and activity, you can gain valuable insights into the effectiveness of your cross-channel activity and make data-driven decisions.

Analytics help to identify strengths and weaknesses, understand customer behaviour, and gives you the tools to optimise your website accordingly. Measuring results provides a clear picture of the return on investment (ROI) for different marketing channels, helping you to allocate resources more effectively.

It also enables you to identify opportunities for improvement, such as optimising conversion funnels, enhancing user experience, or refining multi-channel marketing campaigns.

Reporting on eCommerce website activity facilitates performance evaluation, goal setting, and benchmarking against competitors. It allows you to set realistic targets, measure progress, and make informed adjustments to achieve growth objectives. It also gives valuable insight into customer behaviour which can uncover trends, preferences, and pain points, which can be used to tailor offerings, improve customer satisfaction, and foster long-term loyalty.

Ultimately, measuring results and reporting on your web activity gives you the knowledge and insights to drive continuous growth, adapt to market changes, and maximize online success.

1 https://www.statista.com/statistics/1275711/online-shoppers-sources-of-inspiration-in-uk

2 https://www.statista.com/statistics/1275711/online-shoppers-sources-of-inspiration-in-uk

3 https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/articles/stats-invest-content-marketing/

4 https://www.statista.com/topics/7887/online-shopping-behavior-in-the-uk/

Why you should not overlook brand and creativity (in tough market conditions)

The original premise for this blog was going to be why you should not overlook brand and creativity in tough market conditions.

But when you stop to think about it, that’s four words too many. The four in question are: in tough market conditions.

Whether your brand is competing for attention in a tiger economy or during a deep depression, you want – and need – your brand to be the hardest worker in your business. It can’t be that without creativity. Brand and creativity are the proverbial chicken and egg.

Great design tells a story

Good design speaks volumes about a company’s professionalism, quality and positioning in the market.

The cliché that a picture is worth a thousand words is true. The human brain processes images 60,000 times faster than words.

We are visual creatures, which is why it is so important imagery accurately reflects the quality of your business and shows your customers what you want them to see.

Research at the US-based 3M Corporation also concluded the human brain deciphers image elements simultaneously, while language is decoded in a linear, sequential manner taking more time to process.

In fact, psychologist Albert Mehrabian, Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of California, has demonstrated that 93% of communication is nonverbal. Not only does the brain recognise an image more quickly, but it also remembers visuals much better than it does words.

And in this age of social media and endless scrolling, it is more important than ever to ensure your design is helping you to connect with your target audience and help to convert those people into sales, or leads, or whatever your objective is, which will help you achieve your goals and provide ROI.

We often state that our design team with their collective four decades of industry experience and brief interpretation acumen between them, is the creative cog of Cornerstone. Good creative design will help you create a strong impression, build a brand identity, convey key information, narrate your story, and build consumer trust.

What it’s like to work at Cornerstone

Ever wondered what it’s like to work here at Cornerstone? Well now’s your chance, we’d like to take you on a journey of our vibrant growing agency.

But first, some wise words from the late Steve Jobs, the co-founder, chief executive and chairman of Apple Inc, who left the tech giant in 1985 to launch Pixar Animation Studios before returning to Apple a decade later.

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”

Anyone lucky enough to visit our impressive office space will see similar pearls of wisdom emblazoned on the walls of our Hershey and Chanel meeting rooms (not to mention a full drum kit in the Bernbach Suite – worth noting as we’re about to bang our own drum!).

Great work is what we do. We put everything we have into everything we do, earning the loyalty and trust of our clients. Steve Jobs would approve. Do you?

Why two Cornerstone days are never the same

Even though we have a brilliant office space (here’s a picture or two to prove it), we don’t insist everyone comes in every day. Our hybrid working policy calls for staff to be office-based for at least two days per week.

But it doesn’t matter whether you’re at home or in the office, channels of communication are always open via Microsoft Teams – a necessity when collaboration is crucial for creating great work.

Speaking of teams, everybody knows their place on the team and what is expected of them. We apply ourselves to our own particular discipline and every facet of it. Our working day consists of ‘billable’ hours, admin time, and down time to make a brew, have lunch, or nip to the shops. We like to think we have the work-life balance down to a tee.

It doesn’t matter which department you’re based in; you’ll have set tasks of billable time. But that’s when things get varied. You could be working on a task for a client down the road or on the other side of the world, it doesn’t matter so long as you strive for excellence.

We liaise closely with all of our clients, so you could find yourself on a Teams call, in a face-to-face meeting, discussing your work in a brainstorming session with colleagues. No two days are the same.

And while the office space is grouped into departments –  account management, digital, web, PR and creative – we have collaboration days every month when we mix up the seating plan so everyone gets a chance to sit next to someone different so they can learn from each other.

Why creativity is top of the effectiveness charts

We often describe our design team as Cornerstone’s creative cog – somehow the words creative and design seem to go together.

But when you stop to consider, the word creative has connotations for every single fibre of a business. Without creativity a business stagnates, without innovation it can’t grow.

For example, designing the most cost-effective, efficient method of despatching your product is just as crucial as the creativity that went into the packaging design.

This study of why creativity is fundamental to the success and effectiveness of any business is beautifully summed up by Sarah, ironically our Head of Creative!

She says: “Everyone has the capacity for creative thinking, and we can’t just assume that being creative only applies to certain job titles or job roles. When you acknowledge this and encourage EVERYONE to embrace creative thinking your business discovers endless possibilities.

“It’s not just about the end goal – whether that’s a piece of graphic design work, or a creative piece of writing. Creativity can help people problem solve, it can spark innovation and growth, it can generate new ideas, positive change, create an open environment for sharing new ideas and ultimately increase profitability – all incredibly important in the tough economic climate.”

Creativity – an in-demand skill (according to Harvard)

Sarah’s viewpoint is mirrored by the world-renowned Harvard Business School no less, whose insight into creativity encapsulates where the drive for creative thinking is most prolific, and therefore significant in the world we live in.

According to Harvard Business School, creativity is an in-demand skill, and these are the industries/sectors employing the most people with what it describes as design thinking skills:

If you’re wondering what design thinking means, this is how Harvard describes it: “While creativity is highly important in business, it’s an abstract process that works best with a concrete structure. This is where design thinking comes into play.

“Design thinking – a concept gaining popularity in the business world – is a solutions-based process that ventures between the concrete and abstract. Creativity and innovation are key to the design thinking process.”

In Harvard Business School Dean Srikant Datar’s course Design Thinking and Innovation, the process is broken down into four iterative stages:

Clarify  |  Ideate  |  Develop  |  Implement

IMAGE (Courtesy of Harvard Business School Online)

Why you should foster a creative environment

A place where people can think outside the box and be innovative, will encourage your team, or teams, to come up with new and better ways of doing things. This can help reduce costs, save time, and create a more efficient workplace, which usually equates to a healthier bottom line.

The ability to quickly assess new situations and develop strategies is an essential skill in today’s business world. Ever expanding technology makes it even more necessary to be creative as digital environments constantly change.

It’s simple to say foster a creative environment, but how do you do that?

We’ve found that creating a positive work environment where the team feels comfortable sharing their ideas and pushing the boundaries is a great place to start. Practice what you preach, and you’ll open the door to new ideas. It has often been said a work environment reflects its owner.CS BLOGS

Here are some more ideas:

• Reward creativity by recognising and praising employees who come up with innovative ideas and/or good work.
• Brainstorm and learn together – this can be done in a meeting, during a learning lunch, and even socially after work.
• Create diverse teams – don’t forget that opposites can attract.
• Encourage flexible work arrangements – they can help employees feel more comfortable and productive.

PR is just about writing press releases, right?

Wrong. Public relations are a multi-faceted discipline which underpins every aspect of marketing and brand or business communication.

Think of PR and marketing as an onion. Pull away a layer of marketing, you’ll find a layer of PR right there underneath. If that makes you cry a little because you haven’t valued, implemented and appreciated PR enough, do read on. And keep the tissues handy.

While the campaigns are rolling and the strategy is playing out, PR is there; drip feeding presence, earning reputation, building relationships and influencing opinion and behaviour. It works hard. Very hard.

While marketing is traditionally a one-way push to promote a product, brand or service, PR is very much a two-way conversation, skilfully storytelling and evoking emotion, reaction and response.

Before we delve into exactly how it achieves all those impressive attributes, let’s look at why it’s so essential / amazing.