This week in PR (24 June)
Purpose and ESG
- Tim Le Couilliard: The climate change debate: next stop – London (23 June)
‘One of the newer events on the climate circuit takes place next week in the shape of the third annual London Climate Action Week (LCAW).’
- WA: Sustainability Disclosure Requirements: Where do we go from here? (23 June)
‘In July 2021, the Chancellor announced the new Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) at his Mansion House speech. These requirements were to be focused on combining existing requirements with new ones in an effort to create a new sustainable investment labelling regime which would make it easier for consumers to navigate the investment products available to them.’
Consulting, teams and careers
- Arun Sudhaman: Richard Edelman On Crossing The $1bn Barrier: “It’s An Out Of Body Experience” (22 June)
‘Richard Edelman has described Edelman’s pioneering conquest of the $1bn revenue mark as “an out of body experience”, that will be commemorated with the launch of a new museum devoted to the firm’s history later this year.’ - Lola Carter and Francesca O’Connor: The Offsite Essentials Checklist – Why Every Agency Needs A Get Away (no date)
‘It’s also been an isolating two years – particularly tough on new and younger members of the team. An offsite helps us to flex those long dormant social muscles and build camaraderie, culture and connection.’ - Nik Govier: Three things I’ve learned (17 June)
‘In a post-Covid world – where there’s so much more freedom to be found – the ‘great resignation’ has seen people looking further for work opportunities that more closely meet their personal needs and values. There are so many great employers out there now, all showing that people, planet and profit don’t have to be mutually exclusive.’
Gender, diversity and wellbeing
https://twitter.com/Advita_p/status/1539630656212373504
Public and third sectors
- Alex Pearce: How to use the Freedom of Information Act for PR (20 June)
‘While journalists will use it to hold public bodies to account, it is still an under utilised tool in PR, where it can also be a great asset when it comes to telling a story.’ - Emily Wareing: How can councils communicate with millennials joining the housing market? 4 top tips (19 June)
‘There’s a fine line between creating content aimed at millennials and sounding like your dad trying to be down with the kids on social media. Jumping on to the band wagon of a viral tweet every now and then isn’t going to consistently engage your audience. Instead, it’s going to cause your current audience to tune you out and waste your precious time.’
Politics, public affairs and public sphere
https://twitter.com/CollegeGreenGrp/status/1540220445034782721
- Matilda Hartwig: A tale of two constituencies (23 June)
‘By-elections in Red Wall seats have proven difficult for Keir Starmer to date. The loss of Hartlepool in 2021 was a sign that his leadership had not yet won voters back round in 2021.’ - Mark Borkowski: This rail strike is also a battle for public opinion – and No 10 is fighting dirty (22 June)
‘Pursuing the line that the strikes are “taking us back to the heart of the 70s” is a potent weapon against the unions, and the opposition, as the woes of the 1970s took place under a Labour government. In drawing this parallel, the government connects the strikes to hard times past and reminds the public of previous failures on Labour’s watch … while distracting from their own plethora of crises and scandals.’ - Rebecca Coleman: “Welcome to England, home of the economic crisis.” (21 June)
‘The IFS suggests that whilst real pay has grown by 4.3% since 2010 in the private sector, it has reduced by 4.3% in the public sector.’ - Stuart Thomson: Every word matters, all the time (21 June)
‘Heather Wheeler, Government Minister – suggested that Birmingham and Blackpool were ‘godawful’. Her apology for the offence caused, not the comment itself, was, she said, not reflective of her actual view.’
Crisis, risk and reputation
https://twitter.com/naomimgsmith/status/1539947051202535434
- Amanda Coleman: Are you one of the ‘preppers’? (23 June)
‘It appears there are survivalist groups that spend time preparing for Armageddon or all the things that could happen in the way to it. They stockpile food and supplies so they could deal with whatever happens.’
Research, measurement and evaluation
- Matt Denby: Measuring media relations: What can we learn when we measure the share of conversation? (no date)
‘SoC can help to track negative versus positive/neutral coverage , giving you a more rounded view on how the brand is being discussed in the media.’
Internal communication
- Martin Flegg: Cash strapped (22 June)
‘Communication can’t fix every problem. Internal communicators need to be realistic about what we can achieve, and if communication isn’t a remedy for a problem or issue then we should back off.’ - Dan Holden: Supporting colleagues during times of financial hardship (22 June)
‘There is often a wealth of knowledge in organisations that goes untapped. With the HMRC allowing tax relief for those colleagues working from home, perhaps your finance team can run sessions, virtually or in person, to help colleagues complete the relevant forms.’ - Emma Bridger: Are we getting any nearer to defining Employee Engagement? (no date)
- Jenni Field: Six simple ways to avoid the Great Resignation (20 June)
‘Nobody wants to see great talent leave if they can help it; we need to make sure we’re creating a culture every day where people feel valued, loyal and engaged. There are six things to think about if you’re concerned about people leaving your organisation.’
Media, digital and technology
- Paul Sutton with James Whatley and Holly Atkinson: Metaverse marketing: hope or hype? [podcast] (22 June)
‘Just last week McKinsey released a prediction saying that metaverse spending could total $5 trillion in 2030, with ecommerce making up more than two thirds of that.’ - Emma Drake: Taking a slice of ‘owned’ content from the PESO pie [podcast] (17 June)
‘Owned content, like blogging for example, can be a powerful tool for generating awareness about your business. It’s also a really effective way to build a brand, generate traffic and position yourself as an industry expert. I think it’s underused and undervalued, particularly by B2B businesses.’
Academic and education
Genuinely thrilled (and very relieved) to say I am officially #CIPRQualified.
A challenging but ultimately hugely rewarding experience. Highly recommended* and happy to speak to anyone considering it.
*ideally not during a pandemic when also having to home school! pic.twitter.com/oEkJWCv7cE
— Jon Gerlis (@JRGerlis) June 23, 2022
- Stephen Waddington: The many paradoxes of public relations (20 June)
‘Professionals are from Venus, scholars are from Mars. That’s not my line. It’s the title of a research paper by the inspirational Dutch scholar Bette van Ruler. Academics and practitioners work in different communities. They read different media and attend different events.’