This week in PR (14 February)

News in brief

• ‘Ofcom will be put in charge of regulating the internet with a new range of powers intended to protect users from “harmful and illegal content” online.’ (via The Guardian)

Education and training

Spotted in back of @CIPR_UK mag. PR speaks louder than adverts …my @pracademy students say they are more decisive, assertive, strategic and excited about campaigns as a result of studying #CIPRQualified. Agree? pic.twitter.com/bkS4KhUNGP

— Maud Davis (@maudiemo) February 13, 2020

Purpose and professionalism

• Laura Sutherland: Purpose – affirming the reason any organisation exists (11 February)
  ‘Areas of priority for many organisations are social and environmental impact. What’s your purpose? Is purpose engrained in your organisation’s strategy?’

Consulting and careers

February’s Jericho Notices, authored by @citizenrobert, is dedicated to three brilliant new books from Jericho colleagues and friends – essential reading amid the daffodils, snowdrops and sunny optimism that comes with Spring https://t.co/fH8nWJ84vk@Amazing_If @M_Heffernan pic.twitter.com/lwsDrYb837

— Jericho Chambers (@jerichochambers) February 12, 2020

• Kelly Grainger: New beginnings (12 February)
  ‘So, after nearly 23 years working in the Corporate world for some of the worlds biggest and most recognised brands, I have decided to say goodbye and start out on a new and incredibly exciting adventure.’
• Jessica Pardoe: The PR Bible – Words Of Advice For Young PR Pros (11 February)
  ‘What I wanted to do was to put together some words of advice for people who are looking to move into the PR industry, who may just be starting out.’
• Heather Yaxley: Knowledge (9 February)
  ‘Public relations is enriched by the variety of routes and backgrounds that bring people to work in it. As an occupation, its structural elasticity supports flexibility in career development.’

Public and third sectors

• Julie Odams: Big in japan – how the land of the rising sun does local government (7 February)
  ‘There is a lot that local government in Japan has got right. Councils have a very independent role and a huge amount of local autonomy, and the tax system gives them a surety of finance and fundraising powers that we would love in the UK.’

Politics and public affairs

Congratulations to George Eustice – the first, and hopefully not the last, ex-Portlander to join the Cabinet! #reshuffle pic.twitter.com/Lnsnu3SYiy

— MARK FLANAGAN (@markflanagan_) February 13, 2020

• Andrew Smith: Is this a new golden era for the UK bus sector? (11 February)
  ‘The Conservative Party seems to be falling in love with the bus as an effective way to deliver their promised investment in transport infrastructure.’

Wellbeing, gender and diversity

Reputation and crisis

• Ella Minty: Do Not Send A Comms/PR Person Before The Camera – It’s Bad For Business (13 February)
  ‘No private (listed, privately-held, family owned etc.) business should ever have their PR people speaking on behalf of the organisation, especially not in times of reputational crisis, intense scrutiny, and certainly not when the spotlight is on the business or its practices etc.’

Campaigns and creativity

• Rich Leigh: PR in a car: Four Things Every Amazing Creative PR Idea Needs [vlog]
  ‘You need to be able to explain your idea in a sentence. Ensure the idea relates to your client’s product or services. Make sure it’s visual. How are you going to measure the impact of the stunt?’
• Arianne Smart: What I learnt from #31DaysOfCreativity (9 February)
  ‘Giving things a go and not caring about the result was quite liberating. I think we’re all often focussed on getting things right, when sometimes there isn’t necessarily a right answer.’

Brands, storytelling, content and influence

• Michael White: Corporate Content Marketing Trends in 2020 (11 February)
  ‘As I sat in a London coffee shop planning some last-minute revision before getting on stage, I knew three things: 1. The CMA audience is likely to be unfamiliar with the corporate communications world I operate in; 2. Corporates are usually a couple of steps behind in terms of consumer ‘content marketing’ trends; 3. Corporates are continuing to face a crisis in trust and reputation.’
• Scott Guthrie: Influencers exploit coronavirus for fame (10 February)
  ‘28-year-old Polish fitness influencer Fitness Oskar also took to Instagram to newsjack the Coronavirus hashtag. He posted a picture of himself kissing through a surgical mask with fellow influencer Healthy Mandy.’

Measurement and evaluation

At #pranalytics just in time to hear @golin’s @JonnyBentwood set the record straight on where #AI can help in #pr analytics and where it can’t. Role is limited. Humans not being replaced anytime soon pic.twitter.com/0JCmGHSuQD

— Richard Bagnall (@richardbagnall) February 13, 2020

 

Internal communication

• Amanda Northam: The lonely world of Internal Communications (but it’s not all bad) (9 February)
  ‘I learnt the hard way recently that working in Internal Communications can be an incredibly lonely place.’

Technology, media and digital

#WhatsApp Reaches 2 Billion Active Users https://t.co/dmR3bLorw6 via socialmedia2day

— Sangeeta Waldron (@SangeetaWaldron) February 13, 2020

• Stephen Waddington: Facebook is listening to your conversations but not in the way you think (12 February)
  ‘The [new] privacy tool is a bid by Facebook to provide users with greater transparency about the data it collects and how ads are targeted.  I consider myself a sophisticated user of the internet and savvy to how ad tech collects and uses data. How naïve I have been.’
• Nathalie Nguyen: 4 timely PR lessons from the rise of TikTok (10 February)
  ‘Now that TikTok’s popularity has soared, here are a few insights and takeaways when considering the right platform for your campaign.’
• Gavin Devine: I know delusion when I see it: Why the BBC has to give up the licence fee, and fast (9 February)
  ‘The sad fact is, for the BBC, that change is coming whether it wants it or not, and it won’t be the result of ideological conviction.  Technology will kill the licence fee, just as it is forcing every other media outlet to change its funding model.’
• Drew Benvie: How do we reboot social media? (7 February)
  ‘Social media is getting a kicking at present, but I don’t think fines and bans will go far in helping solve its problems. I’m here today because I’m on a mission to save social media because I believe social media is one of the most powerful forces in society today.’

#prstudent #bestPRblogs

Calling all PR students, future graduates, and aspiring apprentices! We've got two Career Development Days coming up this year!
Sign up to London: https://t.co/Wgywwa3mk1
Sign up to Manchester: https://t.co/UGxKLa6CmN pic.twitter.com/YMgiunQgF6

— PRCA (@PRCA_UK) February 13, 2020

• Teela Clayton (Leeds Beckett): Words are like weapons (13 February)
  ‘Now, as a #PRstudent, words are mine to command. But Cher was right: words are like weapons, they wound sometimes.’
• Hannah Chambers (Ulster): Why Mixed Messages Mean Bad PR for Starbucks? (13 February)
  ‘I was shocked to read that although Starbucks is promoting Trans inclusivity on a national scale they don’t have the same rules for their own employees.’
• Abi Kitcher (Solent): Valentine’s Day… is the marketing hype over? (13 February)
  ‘I think Valentine’s Day has faded out more and more in the last year or two due to the big self-love movement. Why would you need to tell someone you love them when telling yourself is more important?’
• Anna Tilley (Ulster): The Fashion Slowdown (13 February)
  ‘You can shop more sustainably and still have fun with fashion. If you really want something that’s slightly more expensive, save up and get it.’
• Ellie Burgoyne (Juice Academy): I didn’t get into university (12 February)
  ‘Do what feels right, do what makes you happy, and find a role or career path that makes you excited to come into work. Something that feels like so much more than a job – and I know I’m lucky enough to be in this position at 18 years old.’
• Daisy Dunn (Leeds Beckett): Call me… Maybe? (12 February)
  ‘We are part of a generation that is lucky enough to experience the powers of digital communication… but we are not robots. We are not programmed to filter our emotions.’
• Niamh Murray (Ulster): Under Pressure (12 February)
  ‘Apparently the average millennial has 14 jobs in their lives, and the way “careers” work is changing. It’s no longer the norm to start a job after you graduate and stay in it for 35 years. People move about. People have several jobs in several years. And that’s okay.’
• Jordan Arthur (Ulster): Dyslexics of the world untie (12 February)
  ‘Another challenge I face is actually spelling the word “Dyslexia” for it being a word to describe people who have difficulty spelling they’ve picked the most difficult word to spell I’ve ever encountered, like seriously the letter “X & Y”.’
• Fionnuala Hegarty (Ulster): Perfectionism is not reality (11 February)
  ‘Social media is amplifying our need to live up to cultural and universal models of perfection and we have now created a psychological environment that is extremely unhealthy for our mind-set. We are measuring our value and attractiveness based on how many likes or comments we get on our posts.’
• Paulina Solka (Leeds Beckett): Can we ever be united again? – A letter to an old friend #brunited (10 February)
  ‘We outgrew each other, you said. You wanted more without even knowing what this exactly meant. You thought that our break-up would be easy, quick and harmless.’