This week in PR (15 January)

News in brief

Today we release the 2021 #TrustBarometer, which reveals an epidemic of misinformation and widespread mistrust of societal institutions and leaders around the world. Business, govt, NGOs & media are all faced with a global mandate to rebuild & restore societal trust. Learn more.

— Edelman (@EdelmanPR) January 13, 2021

• The CIPR has awarded Fellowships to: Sonya Cassidy; Jonathan Collett; Simon Corbett, Darren Northeast, Samantha Seewoosurrun, Penny Syddall, Katherine Sykes

Covid-19 and comms

THREAD: When sceptics tell us they think lockdowns/closing schools is a bad idea, we’re entitled to ask how good their previous judgements about the pandemic have been. So let’s look at a few of them…

— Richard Evans (@RichardJaEvans) January 5, 2021

• Dan Slee: COVID COMMS #32: Direct content is punching through the COVID-19 fatigue (12 January)
  ‘In this stage of the pandemic, the message has become urgently more direct, hard hitting and human.’

Academic and education

Great timing – just had delivery of Exploring Public Relations and Management Communication delivered ready for launch of new PG PR unit this afternoon @mmu_business – very much looking forward to reading @rtench @wadds ! pic.twitter.com/eS90c5w0g6

— Wendy Moran (@wendymoranmmu) January 13, 2021

• Scott Guthrie: Exploring Public Relations and Management Communication: a review (12 January)
  ‘One thread that weaves through the near-650 page book is the interdisciplinary connections between public relations, marketing and advertising. Karen Freberg in her chapter ‘social media for public relations’ makes the point that social media is not owned by any one creative discipline.’

Ethics and professionalism

Our co-Chairs for 2021 @adamdriver85 and @RJacksonMarcomm share our manifesto for the year ahead, focussing on three core areas:

1⃣ Diversity and inclusivity
2⃣ The next generation
3⃣ Being PR and communication ambassadors

Read more: https://t.co/7d5P2t2vqj#CIPREastAnglia

— CIPR East Anglia (@CIPR_EastAnglia) January 11, 2021

• Amanda Coleman: A crisis of confidence (13 January)
  ‘I feel we are at a crossroads for the PR world. Down one path will be the loss of jobs, the loss of position within businesses, and an introspection that means we lose touch with the wider world. Down the other is the opportunity to build from the amazing work that has been taking place, taking up the seat in the boardroom, operating strategically and helping to shape the future of the business.’

Financial and corporate

• Alex Malouf: The Politics of Business – Edelman’s Latest Barometer Summary (15 January)
  ‘Businesses are trusted more than any other group (that includes NGOs, governments and media). Businesses are also seen as the only segment that is both ethical and competent.’
• Adam Browning: Should the pay awards for Britain’s top CEOs be ESG compliant? (14 January)
  ‘ESG funds were the biggest winners in 2020 seeing record levels of fund inflows. In years gone by a swing to ethical investing would often be derailed by a crisis but this time quite the opposite has happened.’

Consulting, teams and careers

• Michael White: Being consultant ‘fit’ (14 January)
  ‘As a communication consultant, my life used to consist of daily travel to London. Buzzing around the City to meet senior and smart people. Stimulated by the speed of an office, the pace of a world without restrictions.’
• Jess Ramsey: Four lessons from the last four years (14 January)
  ‘Starting with Tangerine as a senior account exec in 2017, there was a lot I didn’t even know I didn’t know, but there are a few key lessons I’ve picked up along the way.’

• Andy M Turner: So you want to be a trusted advisor? (12 January)
  ‘The seminal business book on this subject is ‘The Trusted Advisor’. Although more than 20 years old, it’s still a great source of intelligent inspiration and advice. Two of its three co-authors are ex-management consultants.’

Just been told by our finance team that we've had a new starter every week for the last 6 months.

Every week having to onboard new starters and train!! Thats Crazy! And taught us a lot!!!

Il share my learnings and what we do good on the vlog in a few weeks

— Carrie Rose (@CarrieRosePR) January 12, 2021

Wellbeing, gender and diversity

• Ben Smith with Marc Allenby and Daniel Maynard: Being gay in the creative industry: Two personal experiences [podcast] (12 January)
  ‘As a creative, everything comes from your heart; it’s very emotional. When you feel liberated about who you are, that shows in your work.’

Public and third sectors

• Darren Caveney: 5 smart objectives to power-up your communications in 2021 (10 January)
  ‘Once you have audited your effectiveness, and checked in with your leadership team on their top priorities, it’s time to shape or refresh your communications strategy.’

Politics, public affairs and public sphere

• Tim Le Couilliard: The would-be, could-be, should-be(?) Prime Minister: Kwasi Kwarteng (14 January)
  ‘Many see Kwarteng a star to rival Sunak in any future leadership election, if and when Boris Johnson decides “enough is enough”.’
• Charlie Pownall: How to handle awkward media questions (14 January)
  ‘Looping back to key messages and obfuscation are well-known avoidance techniques. Yet Hancock and Patel only succeeded in making themselves appear slippery and evasive.’
• Gareth Jones: Is Keir Starmer struggling to make an impact? (13 January)
  ‘In the past few months, however, polling numbers have remained fairly static between the two main parties – and despite the government’s many difficulties, there is also a perception that Keir Starmer is struggling to make an impact beyond providing a critique of the Prime Minister’s handling of Covid.’

• Lansons Public Affairs team: Predictions for 2021: Politics, Policy and Global Britain (no date)
  ‘With Brexit now decided, you would think that both party leaders would be able to unify their parties and improve party discipline as we head into 2021. Both leaders however will have a difficult year ahead of them in unifying their party.’
• Stuart Thomson: Don’t ignore the speed of networks (12 January)
  ‘Networks are a critical aspect of public affairs but they need to have depth and quality. Knowing loads of people could have some benefits in making wider connections. But take the time to ask yourself whether if, under pressure, your network can help you move at speed.’

Brands, storytelling, and influence 

• Orlagh Shanks: 15 Influencer Marketing Trends To Expect In 2021 (13 January)
  ‘From what we learnt and witnessed in 2020, I have put a list together of 15 things I expect to happen, stay the same or no longer exist in the influencer marketing world in 2021.’
• Tom Stroud: DUHH-BAE – are there any Love Islanders left in the UK? (13 January)
  ‘Influencers are meant to be more credible than traditional ‘celebrities’, we’re meant to find their lives relatable and authentic. But for those of us stuck in the UK, adhering to increasingly tighter restrictions, there is nothing relatable about a four-night, all expenses paid stay at the Five Palm.’

Planning, measurement and evaluation

• Stuart Bruce: Planning and Managing Public Relations Campaigns – review of an excellent book (8 January)
  ‘If public relations is to be taken seriously in the board room, and get its fair share of budgets, then it’s essential that public relations practitioners become much better at theory and learn from public relations academics. Planning and Managing Public Relations Campaigns is both practical and theoretical.’’

Internal communication

https://twitter.com/rosasorrento/status/1347600987498938370

• Rachel Miller: How to increase trust in your organisation (13 January)
  ‘The latest Edelman Trust Barometer was published today, I’ve read through it and summarised what you need to know. It reveals Business is the only trusted institution. The only.’
• Tom McGovern: Diversity and Inclusion in British Football (11 January)
  ‘To create a truly inclusive environment for all supporters and to address the preconceptions of underrepresented groups, it is vital that clubs reach out and engage with different communities to understand their needs and concerns and co-create solutions, and to make them feel like they are welcome and belong.’

Technology, media and digital

Who remembers my https://t.co/vkJEedvzRg – fun site (upset the healthy eating ppl despite it being the tool i used for my own weight (7 stone) loss) I just did a marketing mag interview about it. The global coverage was mad. 125 links in total, 87 were follow! an ac. uk link too

— Andy Barr (@10Yetis) January 12, 2021

• Gini Dietrich: Is Elon Musk Disrupting the PR Industry By Ignoring the Media? (14 January)
  ‘Tesla has all but stopped engaging publicly with the media. They instead rely on Musk’s Twitter account, the company’s YouTube channel, social media influencers, and direct emails to inform the public.’
• Chris Lee: Business leaders must step up on digital – now more than ever (14 January)
  ‘Businesses who are not already communicating effectively – both internally and externally – via digital and other channels must use this time wisely to fine tune their purpose and messaging, identify and train the experts who will carry that message, and use content and digital channels effectively.’
• Colin Cather: Benchmarking Authority: a full year of DA (12 January)
  ‘Nothing is ever as simple as one measure, and that even measuring just ‘quality’ is not as straightforward as equating it to the DA of coverage. But we also know it takes a hard-working, focused team, creating great stories that audiences want to read, and journalists want to publish. That’s part of our not-so-secret-secret.’
• Ashley Friedlein: Ashley Friedlein’s digital & marketing trends 2021 (11 January)
  ‘In last year’s trends I talked about a decade-long effort from brands to rebuild trust that research confirms has been eroded: “To build trusted brands, then, we must be careful not to rely too much on machines, data and automation, but seek to (re)connect on a more human level.”’
• Mark Borkowski: Media polarisation has fuelled political mobs in the US: are we next? (8 January)
  ‘We need to ask, before it’s too late, whether we want our news to reflect our emotions, or to inform them.’

#prstudent #bestPRblogs

• Eloise Newman (Solent): Ethical Fashion: Can Fashion Ever Be Sustainable? (14 January)
  ‘It is clear that some fashion suppliers and consumers are regarding ethics as a top priority- despite the fact that there are a number of brands out there which continue to thrive off of the concept of fast fashion.’
• Kayleigh Tinney (Ulster): Let’s Bring the Focus Back to Sustainability (14 January)
  ‘In 2019 it seemed that most were making a conscious effort to be more sustainable and save the planet, but then 2020 got in the way and everyone’s focus shifted to saving mankind being wiped out by the virus.’