This week in PR (22 March)
Profession and ethics
- Stephen Waddington: Copy, right (21 March)
‘Practitioners are ethically obligated to respect intellectual property rights and ensure that their organisation complies with licensing requirements.’
- Ben Smith: The launch of the Francis Ingham Legacy Fund (15 March)
‘As we now know, Francis was not able to overcome the scars of his difficult childhood. But this memorial fund will hopefully create the opportunity and the foundation for other highly intelligent kids who’ve had a tough start in life and who may come from underprivileged backgrounds like Francis to thrive.’
Purpose, climate and ESG
SUSTAINABILITY COMMUNICATION DIPLOMA
- Andrew Adie: Net zero back on the political agenda (19 March)
‘In recent days Labour has appeared to be trying to regain the initiative on net zero. In today’s speech, Ed Miliband restated Labour commitment to a range of policy initiatives.’
Consulting, skills and careers
- Orlagh Shanks: I’ve Quit My Job And Left London For Good (17 March)
‘It probably didn’t help that I was following a lot of people on social media that were working from their laptops on an island, paying next to nothing for great weather, great food and a great lifestyle. While there I was in London, paying £2,000 for rent alone before paying bills, groceries, commuting costs and costs to live.’
Public and third sectors
- Dan Slee: TARGET NICHE: The Daily Mail multi-channel approach could be the way forward for public sector WhatsApp Channels (17 March)
‘WhatsApp is used in the UK by around 80 per cent of people aged between 18 and 64, according to Ofcom. That’s as close as you can get to a universal social app.’
Politics, public affairs and public sphere
- Will Neale: Rachel Reeves sets out Labour’s economic stall (19 March)
‘The Shadow Chancellor’s message to business and finance leaders is clear: the path to a prosperous future involves a synergistic partnership between the public and private sectors.’
Brands, content, community and creativity
- Amy Jones: Is the pressure for a flop-free existence stifling creativity? (no date)
‘I was asked recently why, if the idea under discussion was so good, it hadn’t been done before? I found it hard to answer that (please do send me suggestions, I was flummoxed) but I suppose – it probably has, in some way, but if it feels new then definitely let’s do it shall we?’ - Ben Smith with Jo Ogunleye and Laura Wheeler: Do in-house B2B communicators value creativity? [podcast] (18 March)
‘In my view a modern, integrated PR approach is a far cry from the traditional model of simply blasting out press releases. And that’s why it’s so critical to plan well-integrated campaigns.’
Research, data, measurement and evaluation
- Gary Preston: The disconnect between PR metrics and budget holders’ expectations (19 March)
‘Although PR professionals are finally putting outdated metrics like AVE to bed, there is still no consensus on how best to prove the true impact of PR activity.’ - Heather Yaxley: Answers and questions: Evaluating the working population of PR (18 March)
‘Unlike the Census, research about those who work in PR may lack transparency about its process and full data sets are routinely not available. Hence figures from previous work showing the size of the PR population should be considered as ‘estimates’ or ‘extrapolations’.
Crisis, risk and reputation
- Amanda Coleman: Valuing trust in a world of fakes (21 March)
‘Conspiracy theories, concern, confusion and criticism will always be shared where there is a perception of a lack of trust. If an organisation felt to have misled, lied or manipulated the truth or the reality of a situation there will be a long road back.’
Behaviour and influence
Internal communication
INTERNAL COMMUNICATION DIPLOMA
- Katie Macaulay with Bob Watanabe: Inclusion in action: Kindness is the keystone [podcast] (20 March)
‘The other thing I will always tell the comms folks is to listen before talking, of pulling in the folks that are going to be impacted by this technology change and having those conversations. People don’t want to hear about this through an email.’
- Jenni Field: Essential leadership skills for remote teams post-COVID: How to lead a remote team successfully (18 March)
‘I’ve done a lot of research and had many conversations with leaders about this over the last few years and it’s a recurring theme. Sustaining a great culture remotely takes a lot of time and ongoing effort.’
- Rachel Miller: Podcast: How to create an internal communication vision (15 March)
‘The purpose of internal communication isn’t to tell people what to do. It’s to create a shared understanding and a shared meaning so employees can align themselves with our organisation’s goals and priorities.’
Media, digital and technology
- Tim Le Couilliard: Ticktock TikTok – is time up for the social media platform? (21 March)
‘The part which receives less attention is that around 60% of TikTok is owned by international investors, not based in China, including some of the largest Western PE and hedge funds.’
- Ian Silvera: Did tech kill TV impartiality? (19 March)
‘The UK’s media watchdog has cracked down on GB News, the new show in town, for daring to air serving MPs reading the news. The fledgling outlet, whose hosts include Nigel Farage, Lee Anderson and Eamonn Holmes, has received an almighty slap on the wrist from OfCom for breaching impartiality rules.’ - Gini Dietrich: The Newly Refreshed PESO Model™ Graphic and Process (no date)
‘The most important thing to remember is that the PESO Model is like a table with four legs. You must build each leg solidly, or the whole thing will collapse.’ - Ella Minty: The foundation of Media Relations is … RESPECT (18 March)
‘In our society, at least in free societies, journalists have a critical role to play: they hold to account private and public businesses, government departments and politicians, charities and celebrities, and they present to the wider public an abridged version of the facts, one that can be easily understood by those who are not experts in that particular subject.’
