This week in PR (11 August)
Profession
- Simon Monger: SCMP, three years later – what difference has it made? (4 August)
‘As an internal communication and change consultant, I’m regularly having to market myself to potential clients. I can say with confidence – and concrete evidence – that having the SCMP® has won me work, especially when combined with my Presidency of the UK & Ireland chapter of the IABC.’
Purpose, climate and ESG
SUSTAINABILITY COMMUNICATION DIPLOMA
- Frankie Oliver and John Harrington with Zoe Cohen: ‘We’re not trying to be popular’ – Behind Just Stop Oil’s comms strategy, PRWeek podcast (9 August|)
‘The campaign Just Stop Oil was launched on Valentine’s Day last year with the clear and sole demand that the UK government ends all new licensing consents for oil, gas and coal in the UK. The campaign is led by a small group of people working on a shoestring. We’re not trying to be popular. We’re not trying to be elected. We have a moral duty to get the greatest threat to humanity in the media daily.’
Consulting, skills and careers
Can’t imagine this will be great for business. #optics. Zoom orders workers back to the office https://t.co/0CXE6n1FqU
— Steve Shepperson-Smith (@SteveShepSmith) August 7, 2023
- Roxanne Kingsman: What PR Pros need to know about working with startups (no date)
‘PR for startups is a particular craft, the results of which are almost tangibly felt as the impact of media coverage on growth for companies at an earlier stage is more immediately evident than with larger enterprises. Press coverage helps to build the brand, establish the founder’s credibility in the sector, and attract the attention of investors to drive the next fundraising round.’
Gender, diversity, health and wellbeing
- Asmar Gondal: Behind the mask: Racial equity means looking for outcomes over milestones (no date)
‘The Asian community is still sceptical of a PR industry that only seems to reward the White establishment – the half-truth of that statement makes it hard to rebut.’ - Shilpa Saul: New role, new place, new Mum? Here’s some things to think about before making the leap.(no date)
‘My first piece of advice to anyone contemplating taking on a brand-new role – particularly at leadership level – in a new agency after having their first child would most certainly be don’t do it! Be kind to yourself. Recognise that it won’t be the same as before and you’ll need colleagues around who knew you before-baby and clients who value you.’ - John Clegg: Transforming PR: Thoughts on CIPR’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategy (8 August)
‘I am proud to be part of a profession that is ready to shake things up from the inside. The strategy puts the onus on mirroring. Members and staff have to display the behaviours that they want to see across the profession and in their organisations. It’s about leading to inspire change.’
Public and third sectors
- Darren Caveney: The power of the comms strategy and the 80/20 rule (10 August)
‘In the Tower Hamlets strategy each campaign is graded as Gold, Silver or Bronze so that it’s clear what level of time and resource will be given over to them and this really helps to manage internal expectations.’ - Dave Worsell: Hello epictetus (10 August)
‘Communication pros often focus on delivering messages, but not enough time is spent on understanding how those messages are received and understood. It’s a subtle yet crucial point.’
Politics, public affairs and public sphere
- Connor Whittam and Emmen Ackrim: Starmer, Wilson and Labour’s Policy Battles (7 August)
‘Here, we break down three key groups Starmer will have to keep on the Labour Party stagecoach: the Parliamentary Party, the Liberal Democrats, and the Trade Unions. Respectively, we’ll do so via three policy areas where there is notable potential divergence: China relations, EU membership, and employment reform.’
Brands, content, community and creativity
- Rebecca Jabbar with Alex Francis, Stephen Cheliotis and Sabrina Rossetti: What’s the value of brand? [podcast] (7 August)
‘Brands are emotive and they live in the hearts and minds of the recipient. It’s our job as marketers to have a very clear articulation of our brand and to try to act and behave according to our brand purpose and principles and values and personality.’
Crisis, risk and reputation
- Amanda Coleman: Be ready for the cyber threat (9 August)
‘It is clearly a worrying time for many police officers in Northern Ireland and I am sure there will be lots of work underway to look at what can be done to try and minimise the damage. But once information is out on the internet it is almost impossible to retrieve it in any meaningful way. PR and communication professionals have to be ready to tackle this ever present threat.’ - Eva Maclaine: Crises, chaos and calm – maintaining untarnished reputations (5 August)
‘Professional conversations all too frequently revolve around reputation management but the focus should actually be on integrity, true values, strong leadership and solid purpose.’
Behaviour and influence
- Kasturi Girme: The Dangers of Debating Disinformation (10 August)
‘We have come to know that debunking misinformation requires a careful and nuanced approach in the battle against falsehoods, with hidden risks to addressing false claims directly thanks to the continued niche media shaping of public discourse.’
Internal communication
Internal Communication Diploma
- Jenni Field: Chaos to calm: Finding calm within your communications team with Katie Marlow [podcast] (9 August)
‘What’s the point of any of us doing things that are not cutting through? Because they make us feel better. Because we like to feel busy.’ - Ella Minty: When is the last time you felt “at home”? (6 August)
‘What many employers have right now in terms of internal communication is critically broken, and it need not be – there is a very simple solution available to every single business, small or large, local or multinational.’
Media, digital and technology
- Sean Deans: “Tricks of the Trade”: three tips for engaging with trade media (10 August)
‘Putting a face to your story allows trade media to bridge the gap between informed readers and wider industry audiences. Engage patients early on to provide an authentic personal angle that can cut through more broadly.’
- Aaron Kwittken: Shaping the Future: Key Takeaways from The 2023 Global CommTech Report (9 August)
‘Slowly, but surely, our industry is becoming more receptive to tech. But despite progress in recent months, some obstacles remain in the way of widespread adoption.’
- Ben Smith with Alex Williamson: Rajars results for Q2 2023 [podcast] (8 August)
‘There’s still 49.5 million of us adults listening to radio every single week – 88% of the adult population. The gap has widened between commercial radio and the BBC.’ - Ruby Tyson: The SEC Newgate AI Weekly (8 August)
‘News on tech companies laying off staff doesn’t help the cause with tech giants, Meta, Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon investing mass sums of money into AI servers over employee wages. In particular, Microsoft are currently working on an AI-enabled Office365, and if reports are accurate, suggest that the majority of the company is now invested in AI initiatives.’
Academic, education and training
- Stephen Waddington: Building a second brain using AI and automation (10 August)
‘These tools act as a superpower enabling me to keep track of multiple concepts and sources. They will almost certainly become mainstream integrations into DropBox, Google and Microsoft cloud solutions within 18 months.’
