This week in PR (14 February)

About the author

Richard Bailey Hon FCIPR is editor of PR Academy's PR Place Insights. He has taught and assessed undergraduate, postgraduate and professional students.

Day of writing ahead so headed to a local independent coffee shop for a change of scenery #InternalComms #ConsultantLife @helendeverell
Day of writing ahead so headed to a local independent coffee shop for a change of scenery #InternalComms #ConsultantLife @helendeverell

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

Purpose and professionalism

Consulting and careers

  • 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

Politics and public affairs

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

 

Internal communication

Technology, media and digital

  • 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

  • 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.’