A message from the Allegory team during lockdown

The Allegory team’s ways of working have changed over the past four weeks. We know we are not alone, and in these uncertain times we are doing everything we can to support our clients, the business and each other.

Delivering outstanding results has always been at the heart of what we do, and the team is proud to be maintaining our high standards despite the challenges of the current climate. We work with the media every day and achieving editorial coverage for the excellent work our clients are doing has never been more important. Working with the media comes with its own set of challenges: journalists are having to adapt the ways in which they work, people are uncertain about their future careers and over-exposure to the news can be damaging to people’s mental wellbeing.

However, when this pandemic eventually passes, the media and the public are going to remember how businesses and companies reacted during the crisis – for better or for worse. We want to ensure that Allegory and its clients are remembered for the right reasons.  

 

Changes we have made

Allegory was quite well-placed to transition into remote working, having worked on a number of international projects, and regularly delivering regional campaigns with a network of staff and associates based in different parts of the UK. In line with the government’s advice, the Allegory team have adopted the following measures to support our staff and clients:

• Temporary closure of our offices and transition to full remote working, including workshops, meetings, webinars, and interviews;

• Full crisis communications support and advice for existing clients;

• Physical and social distancing policies when in public spaces;

• More virtual contact time with the whole team to ensure people who are living alone are supported, including weekly socials;

• Transparent direction from senior leadership about business decisions so people understand the importance of safeguarding the company.

• Getting involved in projects to support our wider network of industry colleagues, including through CIPR and PRCA.

 

Services we can offer virtually

The Allegory team is still able to provide the same services, to the same high standards as we did before restrictions came into place. These include:

• Communications strategy planning and development;

• Audience, stakeholder and influencer persona development and mapping;

• Internal communications projects;

• Communications recruitment;

• Brand positioning and visual identity;

• Media relations;

• Media training for print and broadcast;

• Content creation including: case studies, website content, blogs, profiles, video scripts and storyboards, webinars and social media content;

• A range of workshops including: strategy development, audience identification, brand awareness and positioning, influencer engagement, crisis management (including COVID-19 specific workshops) and social media. 

 

Giving back to our community

We are a communications agency based in the heart of Shoreditch, and in Manchester city centre and we want to support our communities as much as our business. Members of our team are volunteering on programmes run by the CIPR and PRCA, and donating to charities including Crisis and Darent Valley Hospital. We are also supporting various programmes across the communications sector and beyond including: The PR Community Initiative (an opportunity for furloughed PR professionals to offer their skills to charities needing support), creating and sending out care packages in North London, and creating fundraising pages for Dartford and Gravesend paramedics.

To highlight some of the amazing things individuals are doing to help communities we have launched our #AllegoryAdmires campaign. Follow the hashtag for updates on Twitter about the latest good news stories and head over to our website to find out more. 

The pandemic will undoubtedly have a lasting impact on the communications sector. At Allegory we are doing our best to remain positive, be supportive and help each other as much as we can. If you would like to speak with us about how Allegory can support your organisation throughout this period, be it with internal communications, crisis management or getting coverage in the media, please get in touch with simon@allegoryagency.co.uk.