Tech 500 UK Archives

What makes an influencer? Behind the scenes at the #Tech500

décembre 20, 2019/dans Tyto Tech 500 /par Brendon Craigie

Those of us in the integrated marketing and public relations sector often speak of ‘influencers’ as central to our industry, and to the business landscape as a whole. Undoubtedly, influencers are crucially important. After all, they shape the public’s thoughts around current events. They define how information narratives are presented and even influence the products we buy. Public relations wouldn’t exist without influencers.

But, in 2019, how do we truly determine who is an influencer? The very moniker itself has changed meaning throughout the years and continues to evolve well into the writing of this blog post.

In the past, influencers consisted of mainstream television and film celebrities, along with journalists and columnists who were well represented within mass media. The advent of social media changed all of this, when influence became more nuanced and, in a sense, democratised. It brought with it a channel whereby non-media professionals were able to share their voice in front of wider business and consumer audiences. All of a sudden, seemingly ‘regular’ people had a large platform from which they could reach many, build their own brand, and garner influence. Thanks to social media, local politicians, academics and journalists have been able to take on a greater role of influence, and this has only continued to increase as social has evolved throughout the years.

Each year, when we analyse influencers within the tech and business landscape for the Tyto Tech 500 Power List, we take into account new sources of influence. No longer limited to professionals such as celebrities and journalists, we’re now seeing the rise of business leaders as influencers.

The Tyto Tech 500 Power List is our annual proprietary research and ranking into the UK and German technology sectors. To make the list, an individual must have social, online and offline influence. It is the first data-driven ranking that isn’t reliant on single metrics or subjective opinion.

We employ a five-stage research approach to define an impartial and repeatable study of key tech influencers, both within the UK and Germany. This five-step approach allows us to truly drill down on levels of influence through the use of research and expert interviews to determine key influencer groups and identify sub-sectors through online search data and media analysis. Data drives each step, allowing us to present a final list of the top 500 annually. Because the same method is used each time, it allows us to present year-on-year comparisons of varying influence. In this way, we can see how the influencer landscape shifts based on changing trends and communications channels.

This year, we’ve used this methodology not only to pinpoint influencers across the UK but also to identify the top tech influencers in Germany. We hope you find our list useful and compelling, and most of all – we hope it inspires thoughts around influence and what it means for all of us, both as professionals and consumers in our daily lives.

View the full 2019 Tyto Tech 500 Power List of influencers within the UK.

View the full 2019 Tyto Tech 500 Power List of influencers within Germany.

The influence of government – Top 10 influencers in UK Government #Tech500

décembre 20, 2019/dans Tyto Tech 500 /par Brendon Craigie

Government is an area that, prior to now, had not been widely represented within the UK influencer landscape. Although government and the officials who make its policies obviously influence the daily workings of national business and individual lives, government officials themselves haven’t typically been seen as influential within the tech community.

That is, the social follows, online mentions and public speaking platforms taken up by key players in government haven’t, to date, been strong enough to land many government officials in previous iterations of the Tyto Tech 500 Power List.

2019, however, signals a changing trend, wherein UK government officials are increasingly voicing their thoughts and opinions through channels that influence both business people and consumers alike.

As a consequence, government officials have cut through into the top 500 in this year’s Tyto Tech 500 Power List. Whereas a total of ten government officials featured in the 2018 Tech 500, a total of 11 feature this year. Three government officials feature in the Top 20 alone, whilst zero were present in 2018. While the numbers themselves may not seem drastically different, that’s a 300% year-on-year increase, which is not insignificant when we consider a sector that traditionally hasn’t been known for its influential impact within the mainstream.

In today’s tumultuous global political landscape, government officials are gaining increased clout and influence due to greater public appetite for (and scrutiny of) politics and its impact on all facets of daily life.

Tyto Tech 500: Top 10 Influencers in Government

Chi Onwurah – MP, Newcastle upon Tyne Central, Labour Party
Matt Hancock – MP, West Suffolk; Secretary of State for Health & Social Care, Conservative Party
Philip Hammond – MP, Runnymeade and Weybridge, former Conservative Party
George Freeman – MP, Mid Norfolk, Conservative Party
Caroline Lucas – British Green Party
Sajid Javid – Chancellor of the Exchequer, Conservative Party
Baroness Natalie Bennett – Green Party of England and Wales
Rajesh Agrawal – Deputy Mayor of London for Business
Molly Scott Cato – MEP, South West England
Matt Warman – MP, Boston and Skegness

Roles are accurate at the time of compiling the Tech 500, pre-2019 general election.

Download the full UK Power List today.

Women of Influence – Top 10 UK women influencers, #Tech500

novembre 12, 2019/dans Tyto Tech 500 /par Brendon Craigie

Each year, the Tyto Tech 500 Power List identifies the most influential individuals across the UK in business, media and government, and each year sees a number of leading women represented in its ranks. We are pleased to report, however, that 2019 reveals a banner year for female influencers, with women making up 40% of the Top 10 influencers in the UK.

Most notably, Emily Gosden, energy editor at The Sunday Times, leads the Power List with her well-earned spot at #1. This is the first time that to date that a female influencer has achieved the leading rank on the annual Power List.

In fact, within the entire Tyto Tech 500 Power List, women made up more than a third (34%) of total influencers. That is an increase of 3% as compared to 2018, when women made up only 31% of the Tyto Tech 500 Power List.

The women of influence making up this year’s Tyto Tech 500 Power List come from diverse sectors, including journalism, business, government, and academia.

While this increase portends a positive trend on the rise, it nevertheless draws our attention to the fact that the influencer landscape still has a way to go in terms of achieving true gender balance. Certainly, this trend of women steadily on the rise is one we hope to see continue in future years as women continue to make their voices heard and break through the glass ceiling into the highest levels of business and influence.

Tyto Tech 500: Top 10 UK Women Influencers

Emily Gosden – Energy editor, The Sunday Times; leads all influencers as #1 on the Power List
Chi Onwurah – MP, Newcastle upon Tyne Central
Fiona Briggs – Journalist, Retail Times
Anne Boden, MBE – CEO, Starling Bank
Mary Portas – Retail consultant and broadcaster
Sarah Knapton – Journalist, The Daily Telegraph
Ashley Armstrong – Journalist, The Times
Dr Sue Black, OBE FCBS FRSA – Academic, Durham University
Nicola Mendelsohn CBE – VP EMEA, Facebook
Lilach Bullock – Digital marketing expert

Download the full UK Power List today.

GreenTech Brings New Energy to Tech 500 Power List

novembre 12, 2019/dans Tyto Tech 500 /par Brendon Craigie

As we enter a new decade, it’s undeniable that a sea change around sustainability is afoot. Trends show us that consumers increasingly engage with sustainable brands, while activists such as Greta Thunberg and Extinction Rebellion make headlines. It’s clear that there’s a charge towards a new era, one in which business can no longer afford to ignore its footprint on the environment.

Even within our own industry of communications, the legendary Sue Garrard, former global communications lead at Unilever, implored communications professionals to cease work with climate deniers, while alluding to the notion that businesses who fail to invest in sustainability will struggle to survive. Sustainability is a discussion that is certainly not going away.

This shift is reflected in this year’s Tyto Tech 500 Power List, which sees a demonstrated rise in UK GreenTech influencers. Technology’s most influential individuals follow the societal shift towards sustainability.

Last year, the Tech 500 Power List included both activists and several government officials in the GreenTech space: Doug Parr of Greenpeace, Caroline Lucas of the Green Party, and Parliament’s Molly Scott Cato, thus demonstrating that it is within the halls of Westminster where change can be made. This year, however, prominent journalist Emily Gosden, Energy Editor at The Times, features as top influencer on the overall Power List. In the past twelve months, Emily has written about topics ranging from wind farms, electric cars, solar technologies, carbon emissions, and climate change.

The fact that a journalist is tops both lists this year demonstrates the intersection between sustainability and the public consciousness. Increasingly, media both reports on and forms the dialogue. It provides a voice to those looking to create a greener world and reports on the technologies and innovations making changes in this direction.

This does not, however, diminish the importance of government’s influence in the space. While Caroline Lucas’ influence has dropped eight places from last year, overall, government players in GreenTech continue to be well-represented within the Power List, demonstrating that government’s continuing importance to the cause. To wit, this year the Green Party’s Natalie Bennet rose by 11 places to 124 on the Tech 500 Power List.

Michael Liebreich of BloombergNEF is another noteworthy influencer in this year’s Power List, rising by 20 places from his place on the list last year. BloombergNEF is a research group focusing on clean energy, advanced transport and innovative materials. We expect to hear more from this organisation in the coming year, along with the environmental think-tank E3G, whose Chairman, Tom Burke, stormed this year’s the Tech 500 Power List by rising 624 positions to 119 on the Power List overall.

If this trend continues, we can expect GreenTech to feature heavily in future Tech 500 Power Lists. Download the full report, today.

Tyto Tech 500: Top 10 Influencers in GreenTech

1	Emily Gosden	The Times
2	Caroline Lucas	Green Party
3	Michael Liebreich	BloombergNEF
4	Tom Burke	E3G
5	Natalie Bennett	Green Party
6	Doug Parr	Greenpeace
7	Molly Scott Cato	Green Party
8	Tom Daley	The Carbon Trust
9	Nina Skorupska	Renewable Energy Provider
10	Tanya Steele	WWF

Tyto launches Tech 500 Power List 2019: Women and Media grow influence on UK tech

novembre 12, 2019/dans Tyto Tech 500 /par Brendon Craigie

Today, European PR agency Tyto publishes its third annual Tyto Tech 500 Power List, revealing the most influential individuals in the UK tech sector. The Tyto Tech 500 Power List, the only objective data-driven influence study into the UK tech sector, shows the increasing influence women and the media have on the sector.

Emily Gosden, Energy Editor at The Times took the top spot this year, marking the first time a woman has taken this place. The ranking also puts the influence of GreenTech on the sector in the limelight for the first time. 12 GreenTech influencers made it on to the list this year, reflecting the current climate of consumer interest in environmental issues.

Overall, women are growing their influence year-on-year, representing 34 per cent of the Tyto Tech 500 Power List, up from 31 per cent in 2018, and 24 per cent in 2017. Women’s influence on the tech sector is growing much faster than their actual representation in the sector; only 17 per cent of roles are held by women. Anne Boden MBE, Founder & CEO of Starling Bank, is represented in the top 10 for the third year in a row.

In total, 20 different sectors are represented in the list. For the third consecutive year, FinTech has taken the majority sector stake with over one-fifth of influencers coming from this subsector (22 per cent of the list). FinTech’s incremental influence is indicative of the strength of this sector in the UK and its role as an important FinTech hub.

This year’s Tyto Tech 500 Power List also revealed that, having lost ground in 2018, the media has regained its influence over the sector, with journalists representing 6 out of the top 10 and 14 per cent of the full 500, (a three per cent increase on 2018). The BBC ranks particularly highly; 13 per cent of all journalists on the list are from the BBC and it is the leading organisation in terms of the number of employees making it on to the list.

The top 10 influencers for 2019 are:

Emily Gosden – The Times, up 194 positions
Simon Calder – Independent, up 88 positions
Dr. Michael Mosley – BBC News, up 27 positions
Chi Onwurah – Government, up 83 positions
Richard Branson – Virgin, up 77 positions
Fiona Briggs – Retail Times, up 261 positions
Gideon Spanier – Campaign, up 298 positions
Stephen Fry – up 41 positions
Anne Boden – Starling Bank, down 8 positions
Rory Cellan-Jones – BBC, up 22 positions

Brendon Craigie, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Tyto, commented:

“It’s been great to chart the rising influence of women on the UK tech sector, despite women barely making up a fifth of the UK tech workforce. These leaders are playing a vital role in helping to shift the perception of the industry as an old boys’ club and encouraging more women to enter the sector. I’ve got no doubt this growing gender equality in influence will ultimately feed through to a more gender-balanced UK tech workforce.”

The Tyto Tech 500 Power List was created using a five-stage data-driven analysis process, assessing an individual’s traditional and social media influence as well as prominence at public events.

Download the Tyto Tech 500 Power List report today.