This week in PR (29 March)

Author: Richard Bailey, Editor
29th March 2019 16 min read

About the author

Richard Bailey Hon FCIPR is editor of PR Academy Insights. He has taught and assessed undergraduate, postgraduate and professional students.

Stockholm at night @michaelwhite1
Stockholm at night @michaelwhite1

In the news

  • The CIPR and PRCA are both concerned about forthcoming European legislation on copyright affecting links and sharing of data online (PR Week).
  • Over a quarter of public relations jobs are at risk from AI and automation, according to an Office for National Statistics report. (CIPR)
  • Here are the winners from this week’s PRCA Digital Awards and Influencer Marketing Awards
  • Victoria Geoghegan, associated with the scandal that led to the collapse of Bell Pottinger in 2017, has returned to a frontline PR role (CorpComms).
  • Roddy Dewe, co-founder of financial public relations consultancy Dewe Rogerson (later Citigate Dewe Rogerson) has died aged 83 (PR Week).

Academic

Insights and opinions: 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

Leadership and professionalism

Academic and education

Consulting, careers and skills

  • Caroline Addy: PR… Public Relations or People Relations? (no date)
    ‘From clients and MDs, to interns and colleagues, there’s so much to learn from the people that make our industry tick. Ways of working, attitude, attention to detail, compassion, tenacity, drive, the list goes on.’

Politics and public affairs

  • Stuart Thomson: Think carefully about thought leadership (25 March)
    ‘The media approach needs to build on a deeper commitment to the issues and upon firm foundations. The media comment should be, if you like, the icing on the cake rather than representing the entire content of the thought leadership.’

Public and third sectors

Gender, diversity and wellbeing

  • Sara Hawthorn: Get diversity right and inclusion will follow? (27 March)
    ‘Simply having someone from a minority background doesn’t make you an inclusive agency, working with that person or persons to understand the working world from their viewpoint and replacing practices and processes that are in conflict with that view is how we build workplaces that embrace everyone.’

Brands and influence

  • Scott Guthrie: Influencer marketing’s language problem (25 March)
    ‘Tucked beneath the influencer marketing umbrella fall many sub-categories including celebrity endorsement, influencer relations, affiliate marketing, influencer advertising, advocacy and influencer marketing.’

Trust, crisis and reputation

  • Charlie Pownall: Data breach communications under GDPR and emerging privacy regimes (28 March)
    ‘Companies have no option other than to move fast under GDPR. There are only 72 hours to establish what has happened, assess the likely damage, notify the regulator(s) and communicate with those impacted can seem like precious little time, especially when the facts remain unclear.’

Internal communication

  • Lise Michaud: Linking internal communication to business results (no date)
    ‘According to research conducted in 10 European countries, only a little more than one third of companies regularly monitor or assess internal communication efforts, mainly focusing on quantitative measurements rather than qualitative measurements.’
  • Advita Patel: Changing the conversation (26 March)
    ‘We now need to change the conversations we are having and get ready to overcome the future challenges for internal communications as a profession.’
  • Martin Flegg: Connecting the future of internal communication (26 March)
    ‘I’ve worked in communication roles for nearly 20 years. In that time, like many other internal communicators, my role in organisations has gradually shifted from content creator and running channels as the organisation’s post office, into content curation and now as a facilitator and connector.’
  • Annique Simpson: 5 times the Internal Comms community was the absolute best! (25 March)
    ‘Fast forward 3 years and I’m pleased to say the IC community hasn’t changed. They’re still the friendliest, funniest and dedicated people I know. Here’s 5 times the IC crowd proved it was indeed an Incredible Community.’
  • Debbie Aurelius with Lindsay Uittenbogaard, Mike Klein and Martin Flegg: Debating the Future of Internal Communications [podcast] (no date)
    ‘Audiences are becoming more savvy, they want to interact and improve things, yet communicators are taking responsibility for communicating away from leaders and managers.’

Campaigns and creativity

  • Jessica Pardoe: Exploring The Art Of Imitation And ‘Banter’ In PR (27 March)
    ‘I’ve seen countless great examples of brands in the past year alone who’ve proved that piggybacking off other brands, if done right, is an effective and foolproof marketing tactic.’

Technology and AI

Media and digital

#CommsSchool

  • Lucy Hayball (Bournemouth): Finding the time to do it all (and more) (28 March)
    ‘I think being a student can sometimes force you into a bad habit of not making the most of your time and this is where many of the time management issues arise.’
  • Yana Miladinova (Bournemouth): I write, therefore I am (28 March)
    ‘Having a blog gives you an extra advantage during interviews and helps you to connect with like-minded people. And I don’t want to lose those connections. It might sound like a selfish reason, but personal branding is very important early in your career.’
  • Orlagh Shanks (Liverpool John Moores): How to Find the Time to do Just About Everything (26 March)
    ‘Stop using phrases like, ‘I’m too busy,’ and ‘I haven’t got time,’ – everyone has time, it just depends on how you want to spend yours and what you prioritise.’

#prstudent #bestPRblogs

PR Careers: 2019: 150 PR internships and graduate schemes

  • Rachel Mole (Southampton Solent): The Importance of Transparency for Public Relations (29 March)
    ‘I think it’s time we left behind the negative connotations surrounding the term ‘public relations’ and instead focus on the fact it’s largely based around about truth, trust and transparency.’
  • India Minton-Barker (Wolverhampton): The fear surrounding artificial intelligence (28 March)
    ‘As the public relations industry has a large role regarding the thoughts and beliefs of the general public, do we have a responsibility to lead from the front with AI implementation in the workplace?’
  • Lucy Sempey (Ulster): Final Year: So How Did I End Up Here? (28 March)
    ‘All of my life, I had planned to be a teacher. I never thought I would even need to consider a plan B.’
  • Katie Gebbie (Sunderland): Why Internal Communication Is Imperative For Success (27 March)
    ‘Think about it…if your own people don’t understand your brand or can’t share your ethos and key messages how can external publics be expected to?’
  • Megan Tidbury (Southampton Solent): Why every Government/PR Professional should take a leaf out of Jacinda Ardern’s book (27 March)
    ‘A leader is the first person people look at when disaster strikes, to see how they respond and cope with the situation.’
  • Niamh Murray (Ulster): Why do people buy brands? (25 March)
    ‘People don’t wear branded clothes, they wear brands. It’s not just a top, it’s an “Adidas” top. Not just a bag, it’s “Michael Kors”, those aren’t sunglasses, they’re “Raybans”. People don’t just buy branded clothes to wear them, but to be seen wearing them.’
  • Lucy Hayball (Bournemouth): #Startingout: Career profile with Harriet King (26 March)
    ‘I originally wanted to be a journalist. One of the more senior journalists on The Wiltshire Times mentioned that if I was still serious about writing, I should opt for a career in PR.’
  • Fay Costello (Ulster): Never stop learning (25 March)
    ‘I’m very glad I took Conor McGrath up on his invitation to attend a discussion with Alex Aiken, Head of the Government Communication Service (GCS).’
  • Ceri Jones (South Wales): How to write a blog post in 7 simple steps (24 March)
    ‘Blog posts are still a piece of narrative with a beginning, middle and end, but they also have to be informative and actionable. People read blogs to learn something and get more information. Regardless of your niche, your blog posts need to be hitting certain notes in order to achieve success.’
  • Orlagh Shanks (Liverpool John Moores): #FridayFive: Five Ways Instagram Negatively Affects Your Mental Health (22 March)
    ‘I’m starting to think social media has ruined our generation and will continue to do so with the next generations to come. We have a distorted view of beauty, everyone and their dog is now an Influencer.’

Related topics

#bestPRblogs #CommsSchool #prstudent #ThisWeekinPR