This week in PR (27 April)

News in brief

• The Global Capabilities Framework has been released at the Global Alliance World Public Relations Forum meeting. This two-year research project, led by academics from Huddersfield University, presents a high-level view of what public relations practitioners can deliver. The report is available here.
• The public relations consultancy sector grew by 5% in 2017, according to the Holmes Report’s ranking of top world’s top 250 consultancies.
• Cirkle has placed 60% of its shares into an employee ownership trust, with 40% being retained by founder and chairman Caroline Kinsey (Holmes Report)
• Havas Just has invited charities to apply for £50,000 of pro bono work for a campaign focused on loneliness and social isolation in the UK.
• Ketchum UK CEO Jo-ann Robertson is also taking on the role of chair of Young Women’s Trust, a national charity that helps young women on low or no pay.
• Martin Lewis is suing Facebook over fake ads.
• The government has issued a policy paper on artificial intelligence and automation (AI Sector Deal)
• Two public relations graduates and #ThisWeekinPR regulars were shortlisted for the UK blog awards 2018 in the PR, Marketing and Comms category. Congratulations to Rebecca Henderson and Marcel Klebba. The category winner was A branch of holly.
• New author David Sawyer will welcome the publicity for his book, but what about the title of this piece (it’s a long time since I’ve seen or heard the phrase spin doctor)? Scottish spin doctor’s new book aims to help ‘midlife careerists’ reset their lives.
• Clarence Mitchell, once a BBC journalist and well-known as the spokesperson of the family of Madeleine McCann, has been hired to represent Cambridge Analytica.

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

Business / profession

• Rachel Miller: UK Government comms Plan goes live (26 April)
  ‘This year’s plan is a must-read for every government communicator, every piece of our work, no matter how big or small, fits into our overall narrative and delivering the Government’s priorities.’
• Sarah Hall: This National Media-Led Shaming Of People Has To Stop (25 April)
  ‘We supposedly live in a democracy where we can all express our views. But it becomes a real threat to free speech when people are frightened to share their experiences or voice an opinion for fear of being shouted down and abused.’
• Jennifer Sanchis: Cambridge Analytica: PR learnings from the whole debacle (23 April)
  ‘Research-based targeting and data-driven message engineering are at the core of what we do.’
• Chris Lee: How is the PR industry adapting to the march of artificial intelligence? (23 April)
  ‘We can conclude that many jobs within the PR industry will be enhanced, some will disappear, and many new – as yet unknown – roles will be created.’
• Sarah Roberts: AI in PR: What do we need to consider now? (22 April)
  ‘There are so many unknowns on the road ahead, so I wanted to finish on some wise words from the CIPR’s Platinum Podcast, where co-author of the Cluetrain Manifesto David Weinberger urges us within the PR profession to not pass up the opportunity that this new technology gives us.’
• Heather Yaxley: Life (21 April)
  ‘Public relations is about people. The relationships that people, individually and collectively, have with organisations and the people within them.’

Careers and skills

• Mike Sergeant: Pause: the power of silence (25 April)
  ‘One of the most effective ways to communicate is to stop talking.’
• Jake O’Neill / Marcel Klebba: MK: The best PR blog in the UK (25 April)
  ‘Because of the blog, I built relationships. I was recently on a panel with Women in PR about personal branding and the people from the panel knew that I wrote my dissertation on personal branding, and I wrote about the dissertation on my blog.’
• Stephen Waddington: Global Capabilities Framework sets standard for PR skills (24 April)
  ‘An online assessment tool has been developed for use by individual practitioners, team leaders and employers. It is designed to encourage professionals to identify the capabilities they would like to develop and access resources to assist in these goals.’
• Michael White: 7 Content Marketing Tips for The Future of B2B (23 April)
  ‘Audience-led, insightful storytelling, needs to sit at the heart of a content marketing strategy.’
• Sally Northeast: 7 reasons not to come to comms unplugged – and how to overcome them (21 April)
  ‘We get it – [camping] is not for everyone. But CU17 saw a mixture of experienced campers and those who had never done it before. The pros helped the novices and everyone ‘pitched’ in helping to build a remarkable little community.’

Campaigns and creativity

• Ross Wigham: Nine comms lessons from the #UnAwards masterclass (25 April)
  ‘UnAward which are designed as a no-fluff, anti-corporate recognition scheme for the best work and to act as something of an antidote to the unusual glittering, mainstream ceremonies.’

Crisis and reputation

• Laura Sutherland: TSB’s poor communication could cost the bottom line (25 April)
  ‘Yesterday, not Sunday night or Monday, but Tuesday afternoon, TSB’s CEO, Paul Pester, issued a statement saying sorry. It was badly written and too little, too late for most.’
• Mike Love: Being The Bigger Person – A Thought on the Windrush debacle and the dilemma of a government with no heart. (23 April)
  ‘Being “the bigger person” would have not just to say sorry but (and lawyers will hate this) admit fault. The best way to neutralise the blame-game would have been for the PM to hold up her hands and take the blame.’

Gender and diversity

• Ronke Lawal: How to Develop the Confidence to Sell (26 April)
  ‘There so many women have amazing products and services that no one hears about, because they don’t have the confidence to tell people about them.’

Internal communication

• Advita Patel: Five things I wish I knew when starting out… (25 April)
  ‘If you have something to add then speak up and if you’re sat in a meeting longer than 10 minutes and you haven’t said anything, question why you are there.’
• Jenni Kampf: Trust me… (24 April)
  ‘As we ask our employees to trust us as the voice of their organisation, so we need to trust our people.’

Media and digital

• Charlene Li: Reflecting on 10 Years of Groundswell — and What Comes Next (25 April)
  ‘When we wrote Groundswell, most of the examples used technologies like blogs and forums. WeChat didn’t exist, Facebook and Twitter barely got mentioned because almost no organizations used them strategically.’
• Robert Haslam: Global State of the Media Report 2018: algorithms, fake news, press releases (26 April)
  ‘The good news for companies and PR experts is that accuracy now comes above the need for journalists to get exclusives or break a story first.’
• Paul Sutton: Ditching Social Media is a Bandwagon Brands Shouldn’t Jump On (25 April)
  ‘It’s nearly impossible to turn anywhere on the web at the moment without someone questioning the value of Facebook or Twitter or Instagram for brands.’
• Scott Guthrie: Coachella: influencer marketing success stories (24 April)
  ‘In this post we look at four brands that made a big impact at Coachella 2018 with their influencer marketing and user generated content approach.’

#prstudent #bestPRblogs

Here are two useful resource for PR students:

• PR Careers: 2018: 150 PR internships and graduate schemes
• Stephen Waddington: Updated: public relations dissertation topics

And here’s our pick of the best posts by those studying public relations and/or aspiring to work in PR.

• Orlagh Shanks (Liverpool John Moores):#PlacementYear: Month Nine (26 April)
  ‘My first experience working from home wasn’t the best, however. I kept getting distracted, coffee breaks were a lot more regular, as were trips to the fridge. I wasn’t very productive.’
• Emma McVeigh (Ulster): Student Life: Expectation V. Reality (26 April)
  ‘Whilst university may not be entirely as you first expected, most would agree that it’s a brilliant, unforgettable experience that goes by in the blink of an eye. So embrace student life and enjoy it whilst you can, because the real world *shudders*is just around the corner!’
• Rebecca Midgley (Leeds Beckett): Changing perceptions about men’s mental health (25 April)
  ‘Encouraging men to talk about how they’re feeling and what they’re going through can contribute towards prevention; it can stop people from feeling isolated and alone whilst struggling with mental health issues.’
• Lauren Kearns (Ulster): UK versus USA education and culture, the difference across the Atlantic! (25 April)
  ‘Americans are not embarrassed by their emotions and they applaud ambition and openly reward success. We avoid sincerity until it’s absolutely necessary.’
• Jessica Pardoe (Liverpool John Moores): How to improve your Domain Authority (25 April)
  ‘The highest DA’s come from sites that are well established, post regularly, have good relationships with other sites and that are always posting relevant (and clean!) content.’
• Kieran Rumsby (Lincoln): The importance of Cygnet PR (24 April)
  ‘I feel as though this project has been a good example of why Cygnet is useful for PR students at the University of Lincoln and gives individuals a flavour for the type of work that they will be carrying out.’
• Jack Walton (BCU): Presenting my PR Paper at the #MidsPRConf (20 April)
  ‘This was one of the biggest presentations I’ve done so far, and I’m beyond happy to say it was the best one I’ve ever done!’