This week in PR (21 February)

Author: Richard Bailey, Editor
21st February 2020 16 min read

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.

Sorry Mum, I’m never coming home 🗽@phoebe_flapjack
Sorry Mum, I’m never coming home 🗽@phoebe_flapjack

News in brief

  • ‘As a public schoolboy who went to Oxford and tends to hang round in aristocratic circles, Dominic Cummings is an unlikely champion of the dispossessed. But the defining mission of his career is to articulate and channel the frustration of voters who feel alienated by what has been described as the Westminster elite.’ Newsnight’s Nicholas Watt profiles Dominic Cummings.
  • The PRCA and IABC have agreed a reciprocal arrangement where members of one gain access to information and discounted member rates at the other’s events. (Via PRCA).
  • Rachel Royall joins Markettiers (via PR Week)

Purpose and professionalism

Conferences and exhibitions

https://www.linkedin.com/embed/feed/update/urn:li:share:6635078661873639424

  • Matt Cross: You Cannes-not be serious (20 February)
    ‘I find it quite strange that in a world which is rapidly moving towards new standards of environmental, social and sustainable responsibility, we’re offered up a list of speakers which just don’t seem relevant.’
  • Philippe Borremans: Behind the scenes: organizing the Virtual PR Summit (20 February)
    ‘Why not gather public relations thought leaders in a conference setting and add the advantages of e-learning to it. That’s how the concept for the Virtual Public Relations Summit was born.’
  • Jon Meakin: Do trade shows still serve a purpose? (20 February)
    ‘If it’s possible to launch, announce, unveil or showcase something satisfactorily in a virtual way, without spending hundreds of thousands of dollars (or more) on exhibition space and without flying people to Barcelona from all over the world, then do we even need these shows at all? Was MWC19 the last hurrah?’

Consulting and careers

  • Brendon Craigie: Ten opinions from the UK’s latest Unicorn leader Sir Martin Sorrell (20 February)
    ‘Last week I sat down with Sir Martin Sorrell, who was at his buoyant and incisive best, for a new episode of Tyto’s podcast Without Borders as part of a series of interviews with European unicorn leaders.’
  • Jill Kent: How to Get into PR (17 February)
    ‘It’s an exciting and creative industry to work in. And there’s loads of variety. No two days are the same. On the flip side, it’s fast-paced, deadline-driven and can be demanding.’

Public and third sectors

Politics and public affairs

  • Stuart Thomson: The Reality of a Government Reshuffle (17 February)
    ‘Alongside the announcement of new ministers may come changes in the advisory team. New Special Advisers (SpADs) come in to work alongside the new ministers and others disappear, often into public affairs, alongside the old ministers. Again, new relationships to establish.’

Risk, crisis and reputation

https://www.linkedin.com/embed/feed/update/urn:li:share:6635515288190234624

Wellbeing, gender and diversity

  • Ian Curwen: Be more kind (17 February)
    ‘I’ve wanted to write a blog about kindness for some time, but today, given recent events, this feels especially appropriate.’

Brands, storytelling, content and influence

  • Alex Malouf: How Bad is Instagram Fraud in the UAE? Take a Guess… (21 February)
    ‘According to HypeAuditor, more than half of influencers in the United Arabic Emirates use artificial methods of Instagram growth, including buying followers, likes and inauthentic comments.’
  • Rich Leigh: Why Influencer Marketing Needs to Grow Up – and How it Can [vlog] (19 February)
    ‘There’s a correlation between public relations and influencer marketing. I see PR as ‘how do we reach an audience?’ It doesn’t matter what media we use. We use affiliate marketing with PR on top. It’s working a dream.’

Measurement and evaluation

https://www.linkedin.com/embed/feed/update/urn:li:share:6635485951248396288

Internal communication

  • Katie Macaulay with Kevin McDougall and Andy Macleod: State of the sector [podcast] (19 February)
    ‘It’s a great way of benchmarking your internal comms function against your competitors. 45 countries are represented in the survey.’
  • Rachel Miller: What does internal communication mean? (15 February)
    ‘Everything you do as an IC practitioner has to be aligned to the objectives, goals and purpose of the organisation. It’s why we exist.’

Technology, media and digital

  • Orlagh Shanks: Cancel Culture Needs to be Cancelled (19 February)
    ‘As a generation we seem to be a very judgmental bunch. We are very quick to take to Twitter while watching a show like Love Island just to comment on someone who has an eyelash out of place or a dress that’s too tight or extensions that don’t match their real hair colour.’
  • Holly Hodges: PR blogs UK top ten (19 February)
    ‘Still in the top spot is Stephen Waddington with his online space for corporate communication, public relations, marketing and social media insights.’
  • Stephen Waddington: The clickbait media economy is toxic (16 February)
    ‘Clickbait describes content published for no other benefit than to drive attention. It’s a zero-sum game in which the outrageous wins.’

#prstudent #bestPRblogs

  • Hannah Chambers (Ulster): Mouldy Whopper: A Good PR Campaign or Simply Disgusting? (20 February)
    ‘Is this an appealing ad campaign? Not really is the answer, most customers have expressed that seeing a mouldy burger wouldn’t want to make them run out and buy a whopper in a hurry. Clever yes, appetising, no.’
  • Emma Rogers (Solent): Be Kind (20 February)
    ‘Caroline [Flack] has kickstarted yet another conversation into the importance of mental health, and hopefully this time our society changes.’
  • Niamh Murray (Ulster): Klarna: What’s the cost of “interest-free”? (20 February)
    ‘The problem isn’t Klarna, and it’s not “buy now, pay later” (and it’s not me either before you get smart). The problem is promoting this “make it rain” attitude, when you’ve got no water.’
  • Charlotte Price (Sunderland): Thursday Thoughts with Orlagh Shanks (20 February)
    ‘One thing I’ve learnt throughout my time at university and in work, is that we definitely live in a world based on who you know, more so than what you know. But, I don’t mean in the way that ‘my dad’s best friend works at Sony, so he can get me a job there.’ I mean in a way that you can go out and make the connections yourself so that in the future one of those connections could maybe recommend you for a job, or give you a heads-up about a job opening that they think you would be good for.’
  • Abi Kitcher (Solent): Professional development: The importance of personality types (19 February)
    ‘I am a very emotional person and care a lot about others and wear my heart on my sleeve. As I have taken on a more senior role at work within the last year or so, I have had to approach certain things through a more “Thinking” trait but that’s not without having emotions alongside it!’
  • Megan Hopgood (Leeds Beckett): A little less conversation, a little more action please (18 February)
    ‘Spontaneity is something I’m notoriously bad at. But on live projects there’s no time to endlessly mull over and rethink ideas. The only way to get better is to take action, and whatever the outcome, you will be better prepared the next time.’
  • Lindelani M (Birmingham City University): Interview with a second year PR student: meet Lindelani (18 February)
    ‘This summer I aim to complete a day or two at a PR agency every week because I know it is important to continue building on my professional experience, even when the university is closed for breaks. I use LinkedIn a lot and I would love to start attending events within my profession just to network and understand other practitioners experiences within PR.’
  • Eimear McGrane (Ulster): Placement Year Vs Final Year- Should you stay or should you go? (18 February)
    ‘It’s important to remember the organisations you apply to want you to be professional however they know you’re still a student so DON’T WORRY– they don’t expect you to have the same level of knowledge they have. You’re there to learn – remember that and don’t put too much pressure on yourself!’

Related topics

#bestPRblogs #prstudent #ThisWeekinPR