This week in PR (12 July)
It happened this week
Purpose, climate and ESG
SUSTAINABILITY COMMUNICATION DIPLOMA
- Andrew Adie: Protecting corporate brand means redefining P&L for a world of weaponised words (11 July)
‘ESG and net zero are increasingly being weaponised and the phrases used as blunt tools to represent the failure or promise of political ideas, and the failure or potential of investment opportunity and corporate behaviour that pivots towards a greener, more responsible corporate and planetary future.’ - Sudha Singh: SDG 2 and the role of the private sector in sustainable development: Chris Argent, Head of Sustainability & Corporate Affairs, AMEA, Syngenta [podcast] (10 July)
‘Food security and climate change impact our industry and we believe we can be part of a solution to these problems. The private sector has a huge role to play in these big issues. Where purpose meets profit is the foundation of where the answer may lie.’ - Steve Earl: What the landslide Labour win means for ESG pledges (5 July)
‘Elections typically don’t have the market-moving impact that might be expected. This one may be a little different over the longer term, given the warm words about investment, growth, employment fairness and the green transition that initial media reports suggest will be well-received by businesses which have already been investing in their own long-term change.’
Business and finance
- Bob Huxford: New rules for the UK’s equity markets (11 July)
‘Abolishing requirements for shareholder approval on significant or related party transactions makes it easier for listed businesses to cut deals with minimal fuss and delay but also allows for deals that may not be in the best interest of the wider shareholder base to be pushed through.’
Consulting, skills and careers
- Ben Smith with Dean Connolly: PR’s updated salary bands for 2024 [podcast] (11 July)
‘There’s still demand for talent, and there’s still a shortage of talent. From our recruitment perspective, we’ve had two good quarters. Agencies are surviving, some are thriving, and all are innovating.’ - David Olajide: Blueprint for Agency Growth (8 July)
‘Many agencies undervalue their expertise and rely on time-based billing. Crispin [Manners] emphasises the importance of demonstrating the value your agency brings to clients, not just the hours spent. This requires a shift in mindset and the ability to clearly articulate the return on investment (ROI) your services deliver.’
Gender, diversity, health and wellbeing
- Priya Bates and Advita Patel: Building a Culture of Inclusivity With Dr Cornell Verdeja-Woodson [podcast] (11 July)
‘I caution against analysis paralysis: we can sift the data for a long time but it’s not going to tell us anything new. It’s time to act. Perfection doesn’t exist.’
Public and third sectors
Politics, public affairs and public sphere
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- Stuart Thomson: What happens when a new government takes office? (9 July)
‘The Ministerial team will be appointing political and media (special) advisers, and Starmer too will be adding to the team already around him. There will be other appointments to be made as well potentially around engagement with business but we do not operate in a US-style system that sweeps out officials and replaces them with new political appointees. The British style of government is one of a smooth and seamless transition of power, rather than a sea change.’ - Matt Redley: Blair’s call to Labour: ‘Reimagine the state by embracing AI’ (9 July)
‘It’s particularly of note that the former Labour Prime Minister has chosen this time and place to focus attention on the AI revolution. Today’s conference and paper have shown that Blair believes that the secret sauce for Labour’s success in office is to prioritise the adoption of AI.’ - Maja Pawinska Sims: No.10 Unveils New Communications Team (8 July)
‘Matthew Doyle, who had been the Labour Party’s executive director of communications since 2021, has been appointed director of comms at Downing Street.’
- Stuart Thomson: What happens when a new government takes office? (9 July)
Brands, content and creativity
- Louise Turner: Why working in PR makes you an expert storyteller (5 July)
‘Since humans drew pictures on cave walls and shared oral history around fires, we’ve used stories as the medium for passing on information. And it’s no accident. Research shows the human brain is programmed to respond to stories in a way it just doesn’t with data.’
Crisis, risk and reputation
- Maja Pawinska Sims: Podcast: Reputation, Risk & Resilience With Rod Cartwright (8 July)
‘All communication is ultimately about human outcomes. It doesn’t matter what risks and threats there are, they ultimately make themselves felt in human form – whether it’s anxiety, depression, absenteeism, the hit on productivity.’
Internal communication
INTERNAL COMMUNICATION DIPLOMA
- Katie Macaulay with Sean Langston Jr: Say the thing now: Candid conversations at Reddit [podcast] (10 July)
‘I hypothesise that the future of internal communications is one where we’re more far removed from the tactics, we’re more far removed from the day to day tactical executional pieces of the job that we do today, and that we’ve been doing for quite some time. I believe the future, my new promising future of internal communications, is one in which we have prepared and equipped the organization to communicate just as expertly as we do.’
Media, digital and technology
- Sophie Cross: LinkedIn is for humans (no date)
‘Unless you’re willing to pay for sponsored posts or you’re really embracing TikTok and Reels, LinkedIn is the best social channel to get your organic (no budget required) content seen.’
- Stephen Waddington: AI in PR shifts from experimentation to implementation (7 July)
‘We’ve passed the stage of AI experimentation in public relations. The hard work of integrating AI into workflows and determining the impact on the future of practice and society is underway.’
