This week in PR (19 January)
Davos & Trust
- Matthew Ford: SEC Newgate AI Weekly (18 January)
‘The theme for this year’s Davos meeting has been ‘restoring trust’, a topic very relevant to AI. With the speed at which the technology is advancing, its ability to engender both optimism and fear in equal measure, and generative AI’s continued inaccurate ‘hallucinations’, building trust will be essential for companies that utilise AI.’ - Helen Ellis: Rebuilding Trust: Do events such as Davos have a reputation problem?
‘Both Cop and Davos have been the subject of increased scrutiny over the last few years. Questions have been raised over the value of both events. Are they truly inclusive? Do they deliver meaningful change? Or are they at best talking shops and at worst corporate jollies?’ - Diana Marszalek: Trust Barometer: Innovation Fueling Divisiveness (14 January)
‘The 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer finds that innovation is a new factor driving polarization, putting further advancements in areas like medicine, AI and clean energy in jeopardy.’
Profession and ethics
- EUPRERA: EUPRERA joins ICCO’s Media Information and Education Pledge (17 January)
‘Launched in Strasbourg in June 2023, the Pledge stands as a testament to the shared responsibility that various entities – including PR & communications, media, journalism, institutions, tech platforms, and fact-checking organizations – bear in addressing the pressing issue of misinformation.’
Purpose, climate and ESG
SUSTAINABILITY COMMUNICATION DIPLOMA
- Alex Myers: Less Green. More Go. (16 January)
‘We need to move away from the language of responsibility, and toward the language of opportunity if we are to make a difference to mainstream behaviour.’ - Ben Smith: The intersection of Purpose, ESG and CSR with Lewis Iwu, founding partner at Purpose Union on the PRmoment Podcast (15 January)
‘The purpose of a business is the reason why it exists. It guides your decision making across your business from what products you create, what markets you enter, to who you hire.’‘
Consulting, skills and careers
- Sydney Kirton: My life at Brands2Life: what I’ve learned so far (18 January)
‘One thing I really value at Brands2Life is the effort put into upskilling employees, there’s always training going on; whether that’s copywriting tips, pitch practise, or breathwork for re-energising.’
- Elena Georgieva: My mental breakdown allowed me to start a career in analyst relations (15 January)
‘Although I hated PR and was dreading going back to this industry, I was good at Analyst Relations, and as I continued working, I was getting better and better, my instincts were spot on, my suggestions were always welcomed and I started delivering results very quickly.’
- Éilis Cronin: Nik Govier: “Sometimes failure is the making of you” [podcast] (11 January)
‘Unity was my first baby, launched in my 20s. But it was a values clash ultimately; we weren’t pulling in the same direction anymore. In order to walk away from Unity I had to be willing to walk away with nothing after 12 years of hard graft.’
Public and third sectors
- Ben Capper: Our Work: NHS Clinical Leaders Network (17 January)
“The comms materials produced by the Grey Fox team have been outstanding – from web design to rebranding, from blogs through to engagement videos.”
- Darren Caveney: The public sector comms landscape: 2024 (17 January)
‘I first began working in the public sector back in 2001 as a marketing manager in local government. A role I loved. The landscape was very different then. Leading on and investing in an exciting new corporate identity back then was not only important but possible. Fast forward to now and this will be seen as a luxury exercise by many an organisation.’ - Dan Slee: LOCAL WEB: A comprehensive snap-shot of where people get local information (15 January)
‘The lovely people at Ofcom have released 36,000 lines of data in their local news and information release. For public sector communicators who deal with a local area this is solid gold.’
Politics, public affairs and public sphere
- Beatrice Gori, Patrick Birken, Enrico Pelosato and Arthur Faure: AI Act – Nearing finalisation.. or just the beginning? (18 January)
‘The [EU][ hopes that its risk-based tiered approach will become a global model for AI and thereby create a level the playing field for its own tech companies.’ - Matilda Hartwig: UK Government goes nuclear (16 January)
‘Last week, the government announced ‘the biggest expansion in nuclear power for 70 years’, setting out a roadmap boosting the UK’s nuclear generating capacity to 24GW by 2050.’
- Stuart Thomson: Interview with Craig Jones MBE, Fighting With Pride [podcast] (15 January)
‘I had a wonderful career in the armed forces, but it was greatly affected by the fact that for the first eleven years of my time in service it was illegal – against the law – to be gay, and had I been caught I would have been sent to prison. I was part of the change that has made our armed forces the most welcoming to LGBT+ people anywhere in the world.’
Brands, content, community and creativity
- Chris Norton and Will Ockenden: How to Protect Your Brand Against Misinformation with Ant Cousins [podcast] (17 January)
‘Misinformation is only going to get worse. Previously it was easy to identify; it’s now a lot harder because generative AI can create credible-sounding content. And misinformation is strategically more risky for brands because of cancel culture.’
Research, data, measurement and evaluation
- Maja Pawinska Sims: Headliners: Jonny Bentwood (12 January)
‘I am ok with being a passionate data geek. Traditionally, the PR industry is stereotyped by creative geniuses who couldn’t be further apart from me. It took me a long time to be confident and stand tall within the niche industry that I am part of.’
Crisis, risk and reputation
- Sarah Rice: The Post Office scandal & the importance of ethics in crisis comms (17 January)
‘This most traditional of scandals at the Post Office has once again shown us that there is one thing that will hold you firm – your ethics.’
- PRovoke Media: Crisis Review: The Top 21 Crises Of 2023 (Part 1 Of 3) (Part 2 of 3) (15 January / 17 January)
‘Crisis communications veteran Rod Cartwright describes the Rubiales own goal as a “disasterclass” that was also “a shameful example of individual and institutional misogyny, which largely overshadowed a remarkable sporting performance by an amazing team of athletes.”’
Internal communication
INTERNAL COMMUNICATION DIPLOMA
- Dan Holden: What the 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer means for IC pros (17 January)
‘I was pleased to see the importance of needing the opportunity for concerns to be heard from colleagues. 82% of respondents from organisations said that hearing concerns and being able to ask questions was important to create trust.’
- Stephen Waddington: Book review: Leading the Listening Organisation (15 January)
‘The authors argue that effective listening is integral to creating a work environment where employees feel valued, included, and engaged in organisational changes. In the wake of the Post Office crisis, it is an almost activist text.’
Media, digital and technology
- Emma Drake: Deep Dive with Adam Driver – Demystifying SEO [podcast] (18 September)
‘SEO is an important part of the comms mix. One of the benefits is that you can monitor traffic to websites; you can see the impact of the work you’re doing. Once it’s setup and working and the content is optimised, [SEO] can slowly generate interest and leads over time so you can reduce spending on advertising.’
- Trevor Young: Starting a podcast? Here are the 5 most popular formats you need to be aware of (15 January)
‘When it comes to producing a podcast for your business or personal brand, one of the key early decisions you’ll need to make is which format you’re going to run with. There are five main podcast formats to consider, which I explain in more detail below.’
Academic, training and qualifications
