This week in PR (3 August)

Behind the headlines

• Stereotypes. Not a good week for public relations in the national media. The Sunday Times led with insider allegations that a New York PR firm was hired for a dirty tricks campaign against Qatar’s competitors to help secure the 2022 World Cup. The PR person is Michael Holzman of BLJ Worldwide, once named ‘PR person of the year by PR Week. Meanwhile, sister paper The Sun’s Monday headline was: ‘Love rat rugby ace Ben Foden had fling with PR girl…’
• The House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee has produced an interim report on Disinformation and ‘fake news’. ‘Our democracy is at risk, and now is the time to act, to protect our shared values and the integrity of our democratic institutions.’
• Holmes Report has published Influence 100 2018, its list of the most influential chief communication officers around the world.
• Authenticity: here’s a case study. How Sergio Marchionne won the hearts of journalists by breaking PR rules
• Campaign to End Loneliness is the chosen charity for Havas A Just:: Cause 2018, the global health communications agency’s annual programme providing £50,000 free communications support, advice and training.
• Sarah Stimson is to leave the Taylor Bennett Foundation after 11 years. (See below for more on this from Sarah).

Calendar

Our calendar of events now appears on a separate page

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 editor@prplace.com or @pr_place

CIPR, PRCA and APPC

• Laura Sutherland: Why I try to help the PR and communication industry (1 August)
  ‘I’ve been head-hunted twice, made redundant once, started two businesses (the other was Dynamic Young Women, a networking group for future female leaders) and wouldn’t change what I do. I’m carving out my own path.’
• Dan Gerrella: Six reasons why I’ve renewed my CIPR membership (1 August)
  ‘Being a member of the CIPR shows that you work to a set of professional standards including a Code of Conduct. Employers view this positively and it helps when interacting with senior leadership.’
• Lionel Zetter: APPC and PRCA – to merge or not to merge? (31 July)
  ‘A merger between the APPC and the PRCA would reinforce the already substantial commitment of both organisations to ethical standards, and would also bring considerable commercial benefits to both sets of members.’
• Andy Sawford: APPC and PRCA merger (30 July)
  ‘Today, few agencies or practitioners would describe themselves as being ‘political consultants’, instead we identify as communications consultants with expertise in particular audiences and channels, including political and governmental decision makers and influencers. In the context of the debate about the APPCs future, I believe it is time for self regulation and industry representation to be integrated too.’
• Ella Minty: Think about the contribution you can make to Public Relations (28 July)
  ‘It’s not your age, ethnicity, gender or accent that will get you elected; what will get you elected is your ability to prove to your CIPR peers (and voting members) that you’ve got what it takes to be a member of the CIPR Council or its 2020 President and, I have no doubt, you’ll get our votes!’

Business / profession

• Robert Gage: Putting the Public Back Into Public Relations (31 July)
  ‘For educating and informing, dialogue beats press releases, social media discussions, or producing ‘stimulating’ written content. It is enriching for the PR practitioner because it is multi-faceted, honest feedback.’
• Alan VanderMolen: Marketing Services Genius in China? 3 Questions to Ponder (31 July)
  ‘WPP is in “early stage” discussions to sell 20 percent of its Chinese business to a group of Chinese technology and media giants. WPP’s China operations are valued at roughly US$2.5 billion.’
• Stephen Waddington: Video: CIPR founder Tim Travers-Healy on what is public relations? (31 July)
  ‘Tim Travers-Healy is a founder of the IPR, and former President. He was one of the first people to set out a vision for a PR profession in the UK following World War II.’
• Sarah Stimson: Leaving the Taylor Bennett Foundation (30 July)
  ‘After over a decade it was a terribly hard and emotionally challenging decision to leave, but it is the right time to explore some new opportunities and I have a number of exciting projects to announce later this year.’
• Kirsty Leighton: Reach for the sky! New consultancy of the year (27 July)
  ‘What started as a one-woman band at my kitchen table in January 2017 has now grown to be an energetic, ambitious agency of ten equally ambitious professionals.’
• Mark Borkowski: Please can we stop making sense? (27 July)
  ‘I am rather tired of explaining what PR is and the value it has. I am jaded by treading in the footsteps of advertising… Advertising sells. PR creates a desire to be bought. Only one of these things holds real power…’

Public and third sectors

• Stuart Thomson: Reputation above all else? International Development Select Committee’s damning report (2 August)
  ‘The International Development Select Committee report into “sexual exploitation and abuse in the aid sector” suggested that there had been “more concern for reputations than victims.”
• Joanna Clark: The top 15 public sector journalists you need to know (30 July)
  ‘While the NHS and other public services receive praise and celebration they also attract much criticism, so it’s important to find well respected commentators and trusted sources of information.’

Careers and skills

• Marcel Klebba: The #PowerAndInfluence chat: What I [have] learnt, so far, about public relations (1 August)
  ‘Learning is key to being a good PR practitioner. Learn from different sources and stay curious.’
• Orlagh Shanks: Passing the baton to the next PR intern (30 July)
  ‘When I first started thinking about future careers, my first choice was to get into magazine journalism. But then I watched two of my favourite magazines fold and I knew that it wasn’t a stable industry to work in. So I chose PR instead and I still get to work with magazines without the uncertainty that I may be out of a job.’
• John Brown: Four things that scare me about running my own business [vlog] (31 July)
  ‘The right clients to me are the ones that work on a partnership basis rather than a service agreement. They’re the ones that can see a long term future ahead and they’re ones – to be honest with you – I enjoy working with.’
• Alex Myers: Nine things I’ve learned in nine years of Manifest (no date)
  ‘Those early hires – many of whom still work here now – set a precedent for us. As we quickly gained a reputation for creativity and throwing the rule book out the window, it was obvious that it was because we had a team of misfits for whom the concept of ‘normal’ was completely alien.’
• Margaret Webster: How to proofread your own writing (30 July)
  ‘In order to proofread your own writing properly, we need to see what’s really on the page – not what we think is there.’

Crisis and reputation

• Sheena Thomson: When closure can’t be communicated (31 July)
  ‘There is no text book approach to crisis communications as every crisis is different with its own set of challenges.  However, the case of MH370 is unique.’
• Julie Odams: Too aloof to be challenged? (28 July)
  ‘To date [the University of Reading] tweet has had over 75k likes and over 25k retweets along with large numbers of comments. That’s the kind of engagement Communications Teams dream of.’
• Emma McCallum: The vital role of PR as brand loyalty plummets (30 July)
  ‘PR plays a core role in brand management and reputation and, at a time when brand loyalty and trust is falling, its value is magnified.’
• Paul Blanchard: Silence is golden – someone should tell Thomas Markle (30 July)
  ‘It seems obvious to say that a discreet silence would have been in order; one of the things I always try and tell my clients is that they don’t have to say anything, and sometimes silence really is the best way to handle things.’
• Christopher Zahn: The Economics of Reputation (30 July)
  ‘Ultimately, the link between corporate reputation and financial performance may be aerial but far from tenuous. The requirement is clear: reputation is important enough to put in the hands of experts.’

Internal communication

• Advita Patel: Keep on learning (1 August)
  ‘As CIPR #SummerOfCPD kicks off today (1 August) I thought it would be apt to give a quick overview on how the Diploma went and if it was worth it the effort.’
• Ellie Buckingham: Diary of a freelancer – six months in… (28 July)
  ‘Six months on, it’s probably more accurate to call myself a contractor… albeit with a sprinkle of freelancing on the side!’
• Jenni Kampf: Names not numbers (28 July)
  ‘If we speak about ‘resource’, we’re not speaking about people. ‘Resource’ is an imprecise and impersonal term that seems to boil the individual down to their monetary value to the organisation.’
• Helen Deverell: Bringing diversity of thought to IC (27 July)
  ‘Understanding how our leaders think, work and communicate, puts us in a much stronger position to act as a trusted adviser.’

Media and digital

• Paul Sutton: My Biggest Mistake in a Decade of Blogging (1 August)
  ‘I write for people not for search engines. I write what I feel passionate about at the time, not about keywords. But there is one thing I got wrong from day one and that, even as I write this, I’m still getting wrong. I have never focused on building my email subscription list. Never.’
• Scott Guthrie: Influencer fraud could be criminal offence (31 July)
  ‘It wasn’t until January this year that fake social media followers really hit mainstream media attention.’
• Arianne Williams: The biggest news sites across the globe (31 July)
  ‘BBC.com comes out on top as the most popular in the UK. But, interestingly, Msn.com is the most popular news site in the world, coming in the number one spot in nine countries.’
• Laura Crimmons: The content marketing sweet spot and how to find it (31 July)
  ‘I see journalists as our ‘middle audience’ because we need to make sure we engage them in order to reach our end audience – customers/prospective customers, so we need to know what they’re interested in/writing about too.’