This week in PR (25 May)

News in brief

• This week we reached peak GDPR, and the subject even tipped into hilarity. But here’s the crunch: those emails may not have been necessary according to the Guardian.
• The CIPR’s AI in PR panel has published its analysis of the likely impact of technology including artificial intelligence on public relations practice. ‘AI is about to massively change our lives. The public relations profession needs to keep up. We need more experience with these tools and more critical reviews to learn how best to use them and their limitations.’
• PR Week has announced its list of 30 under 30 2018.
• Britain’s top young journalists have been recognised in the MHP 30 To Watch Awards.
• Victoria Tomlinson, CEO of Northern Lights, has launched a new venture. Called Next-Up, it aims to support senior executives to find a role and a purpose as ‘unretirees’. Reported in the Yorkshire Post.

Calendar

Our calendar of events now appears on a separate page

Thought leaders: Pick of the posts

These are the editor’s pick of posts about public relations this week (UK focused, but with a global outlook). Recommendations are welcome to [email protected] or @pr_place

News commentary:

• Louisa Dean: Meghan, Harry and me – 8 things I learned from planning council comms for the royal wedding (24 May)
  ‘Our most engaged tweet was about the bridesmaids and the pageboys looking cute – don’t tell anyone but we wrote that a week before the event.’
• Amanda Coleman: Bee strong (21 May)
  ‘I remember the names and faces of the people who lost their lives. I remember putting the tributes out from the families.’
• Stephen Benzikie: A right Royal PR success: a lesson for big business from Harry’s wedding (21 May)
  ‘While the Royal Family is undoubtedly constrained in many ways regarding its communications, actions and ‘corporate’ behaviour, equally it is sometimes able to take greater risks than other institutions.’
• Ben Capper: “We have to make their life better” – the Jurgen Klopp doctrine (21 May)
  ‘The real star of this season’s epic stride towards the [Champions League] Final in Kiev has been the incomparable, gregarious manager: Jurgen Klopp.’
• Colleen Harris: A reverend quoting Martin Luther King, a swaying black gospel choir… and a mixed-race Duchess: The day the Monarchy embraced multicultural Britain’s future (19 May)
  ‘When I began working as the Prince of Wales’s press secretary in 1998, some of the Palace ‘old guard’ struggled to cope with the sudden appearance of a black girl from South London.’

Business / profession

• Arun Suhaman: ‘Purpose Is Not Lipstick’ — Sue Garrard Breaks Down Unilever Strategy (24 May)
  ‘We [Unilever] closed our CSR department because we could see it was a counter to creating systemic change.’
• Ben Smith with Barry Legetter: “It’s time to forget the search for a PR measurement silver bullet”, says AMEC CEO Barry Leggetter (23 May)
  ‘At a time of huge change in PR you need to be able to prove that your work is having a business benefit for your client or your organisation. Measurement helps you do that.’
• Ross Wigham: 10 comms tips from an NHS Chief exec (23 May)
  ‘David Bradley, chef executive of South West London and St George’s Mental Health Trust offered a detailed insight into what those in the top job are looking for from their senior communicators.’
• Steve Marinker: What’s your narrative gap? (23 May)
  ‘If there is one plaintive cry I have heard from clients more than any other, it’s that that their organisations are not properly understood.’
• Andy West: Does Proving ROI Threaten Your Career? (23 May)
  ‘We as agency partners need to do more to demonstrate the value communications delivers to the business.’
• Tony Quinlan: Social cohesion or social coherence? Thoughts on identity in a fractured society (22 May)
  ‘Social cohesion hasn’t worked and I don’t believe it can in everyday situations. Instead, I offer the idea of social coherence. Instead of sticking together, we fit together on crucial things, but are able to be different on others.’

Careers and skills

• John Brown: Three things I wish I’d done early in my career [vlog] (22 May)
  ‘I should have invested time and effort in getting formally trained in official project management.’
• Helen Sewell: How to be truly influential? Sleep more. (22 May)
  ‘The author of “Why We Sleep”, Professor Matthew Walker, points out that CEOs who don’t get enough sleep are less charismatic and less inspiring.’
• Niki Tibble: The Six Rules of Effective Communications: Rule Four (21 May)
  ‘Many organisations oppose plain and straightforward language. Instead, they favour complicated and intellectual words that demonstrate education, standing and importance.’

Gender and diversity

• Sara Hawthorn: Five steps you could be taking right now to make your PR event inclusive (24 May)
  ‘As a deaf PR agency owner, without a uni degree and who grew up in a council flat, the inclusion of more diverse people is a subject close to home.’

Internal communication

• Rebecca Roberts: How tackling the curse of knowledge is key for internal comms (24 May)
  ‘Internal networks don’t always flow the way we think they will. Messages don’t necessarily cascade down to teams despite whatever management structure is in place.’
• Rachel Miller: How to be a trusted adviser (23 May)
  ‘I’ve written this many times on my blog over the years, but if you want to be a trusted adviser, don’t just say the C word (Comms).’
• Jackie Le Fevre: Are the words on the wall your values? (18 May)
  ‘In your experience, are core values generally lived? In my experience they are not. In my experience to live core values is much easier said than done.’
• Advita Patel: It’s good to talk (18 May)
  ‘With this constant noise around us it’s important to take some time out for yourself and evaluate your mental health regularly.’

Media and digital

• Linnea Jonsson: Six insights about UK digital tech from this year’s Tech Nation Report (24 May)
  ‘London is in the top three global startup ecosystems, coming in after Silicon Valley and New York City.’
• Paul Sutton with Stephen Waddington: How artificial intelligence is impacting PR and communications [podcast] (22 May)
  ‘The conversation was polarised between denial (this is never going to happen) and complete techno-panic (the robots are coming and taking our jobs).’
• Julia Pope: How to lose an industry analyst in 10 days (and ways) (21 May)
  ‘What do industry analysts expect from AR Pros, and what practices should stop?’
• Ronke Lawal: How to work with influencers [vlog] (21 May)
  ‘I still believe that the relationship brands (specifically small ones) and influencers have, can be a powerful one and influencers can really make an impact within a PR and marketing campaign.’
• Scott Guthrie: Key influencer marketing themes for best practice (21 May)
  ‘I have created a repository of influencer marketing themes which cover influencer marketing best practice.’