Ferris Bueller said it best – life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

There is nothing worse than looking back on a moment after it’s happened and discovering you’ve missed a trick. We’ve all done it. Us included. 

In the world of PR and comms, this can happen, not because you weren’t paying attention, but because of overly-complicated internal processes slowing your response down.

In today’s 24/7 digital-first landscape, word travels fast. Memes can go from niche to noteworthy in mere seconds, and the news agenda can be extremely unpredictable.

This spontaneity is part of what makes working in the industry so exciting, but sometimes it’s easy for brands to get tripped up in all the excitement. That’s where Clearbox comes in.

We help you to navigate the cultural conversations that matter for your brand, and avoid the ones that don’t (see our earlier blog on this here). 

Crucially, we help you to do this as quickly as possible. Sounds pretty straightforward, right? Not always…

First of all, you need to decide on your priorities.

It’s important to decide before inserting yourself into public discourse whether or not something aligns with your organisation’s priorities and values.

Take it from us, there is nothing more cringeworthy than when a failed attempt at relevance doesn’t land. Just because something is trending, doesn’t mean you need to get involved for the sake of it. 

Jumping on the wrong bandwagon can be just as costly for your reputation as not reacting at all, so before engaging, we recommend asking yourself: 

• If your organisation was a person, how might they conduct themselves in this situation?
• What’s really important to you? Being ethical? Transparent? Customer-focused? Edgy? 
• What is the likely outcome of this activity? Do you stand to benefit?
• Will this still be relevant by the time you can get it out? (Be realistic.)

Processes should have a purpose

So you’ve asked yourself these questions and decide to send your message out into the world – but what are the next steps? 

Whether it’s crafting social content, sending out a press release or simply replying to a comment online, it’s important to have a process in place for how your team goes about things.

Checks and balances exist for a reason and are great for keeping organisations accountable – after all, our golden rule at Clearbox is to always run a fresh set of eyes over everything we write. 

However, it’s also true that too many cooks can spoil the proverbial broth, and oftentimes too much input from too many pairs of eyes can render a story dead in the water by the time it makes it out the other side.

If your Labubu reference on LinkedIn takes two months to get through legal, you may want to re-evaluate how you manage your comms, and whether your current pipeline can be made more efficient. 

In this way, overly risk-averse internal structures can definitely be accused of killing cultural relevance. 

To avoid talking about Dubai chocolate in December 2026, we recommend revisiting your processes, and bestowing a certain degree of trust in your team. Alternatively…

Find an agency that works like an extension of your team.

Your communications strategy should be sharp, on-brand and in line with company objectives – this point should never be compromised on, especially in the name of chasing trends.

To avoid getting bogged down in the minutiae of bureaucracy and sounding like a broken record, we recommend working with an agency who acts not as a separate entity, but as an extension of your organisation (cough, like us, cough). 

At Clearbox, we like to think of ourselves as our clients’ right-hand man/woman/person. 

We make it our business to understand your business from the inside out, and behave as a mere vehicle for getting your stories out to the world, as authentically and speedily as humanly possible.

Having genuine trust in your comms department and extended team prevents spending too much time faffing about, and enables engagement that is timely, incisive, and purposeful. Take it from us – empowered teams do amazing work.

Don’t just react, predict

Of course, it’s not always enough to just react to things. As an agency, we’re constantly looking forward, and we think your brand should be doing the same. 

Joining the cultural conversation is all well and good, but pro-activity is our bread and butter. 

Don’t just spot trends, create them! Or add your own take. Weaving originality into your communications is key here.

Some of our favourite campaigns to date have come about after taking a step back, and having a good old fashioned brainstorm. We’ve been blessed with clients who are as enthusiastic and passionate as we are, and who trusted us to achieve our goals (even if the plan seemed a little unorthodox at first.)

By prioritising what matters, being more strategic with sign-offs, and trusting your team to deliver, we can promise you that no matter the subject, your communications will benefit in the long run.

One thing’s for sure, when Clearbox joins the conversation, it definitely won’t be boring.