This week in PR (30 October)

Author: Richard Bailey, Editor
30th October 2020 14 min read

About the author

Richard Bailey Hon FCIPR is editor of PR Academy's PR Place Insights. He teaches and assesses undergraduate, postgraduate and professional students.

@sparklypinchy BOO! and Jack Skellington this year. All their own work for the first time! 😍🎃
@sparklypinchy BOO! and Jack Skellington this year. All their own work for the first time! 😍🎃

News in brief

  • Omnicom Q3 results: ‘Omnicom PR Group — whose agencies include FleishmanHillard, Ketchum and Porter Novelli — experienced less of a loss [down 3.4%] than other Omnicom disciplines including advertising, which was down 11.7%.’ (Source PRovoke Media)
  • The US-based Institute for Public Relations has ‘created a new research arm dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion issues in the comms industry.’ It will be led by FleishmanHillard’s Emily Graham and public relations academic Natalie Tindall. (Source: PR Week). 

https://twitter.com/stuartbruce/status/1321039622676369409

Purpose and professionalism

  • Tim Williams: It’s time for comms to get serious about ‘cancel culture’ (26 October)’
    ‘Clearly, the public is demanding more of businesses than in the past. Previously, a business’ purpose was dictated by the value and return they showed shareholders. Today, as highlighted by the Davos Manifesto 2020, a company’s purpose is to “Engage all its stakeholders in shared and sustained value creation”.’

Consulting, teams and careers

https://www.linkedin.com/embed/feed/update/urn:li:ugcPost:6724989862031708160

  • Orlagh Shanks: How to Deal With Job Rejection (26 October)
    ‘It’s not the nicest thing to hear, but I always think that the perfect job will find you and you will find it. Look at each job rejection as, ‘this was obviously meant for someone else and I will find the perfect job at the right time’.’

Wellbeing, gender and diversity

  • Matt Denby: Managing dyslexia while working in PR (no date)
    ‘Having dealt with it for many years I have found a few ways to hack my dyslexia. So I’m sharing my own experiences and views, in the hope that others might be helped along the way.’
  • Matt Batten: How to recover from setbacks (25 October)
    ‘An unexpected health crisis three years ago triggered a period of depression that had a profound impact on my self-confidence and ultimately my career. It was both the best and worst of times but the lessons I learned along the way have been priceless.’

Public and third sectors

  • Darren Caveney: The comms person’s comms person (29 October)
    ‘Phil [Jewitt] is one of those people who would have been good at whatever he did. He works hard, does his research, talks to people, he speaks the truth, he’s nice, he listens, and he’s full of ideas. That’s pretty much the perfect person specification for a comms person.’

Politics, public affairs and public sphere

  • Tom Hashemi: BLM activists need to decide policy aims to effect change (29 October)
    ‘Grassroots movements rarely come with an internal policy shop. But there are think tanks that – I imagine – would be open to taking such a role. A combination of the movement providing the moral legitimacy and a think tank providing policy expertise (not to mention the contacts and institutional know-how) could be a powerful combination.’
  • Stuart Thomson: The Marcus Rashford guide to public affairs (26 October)
    ‘There is no doubt that Rashford is a special footballing talent but his campaign to secure free school meals to those who receive them to include the school holidays has been a masterclass in campaigning.’
  • Dan Slee: 30 days of human comms: #71 Joe Biden viral video clip (24 October)
    ‘The power of the clip comes from the human response of Biden. It was tweeted by former White House photographer Arun Chaudhury in support of Biden but really comes alive online when it was shared by a member of the public.’

Risk, crisis and reputation

Brands, storytelling, and influence

  • Scott Guthrie: Influencer marketing disclosure regulations with Rupa Shah [podcast] (29 October)
    ‘I was getting rather institutionalised at the ASA after so long. I came back from maternity leave and was excited to be creating guidance for influencers but it felt like it wasn’t happening fast enough.’

Measurement and evaluation

Internal communication

https://twitter.com/Advita_p/status/1321019847376048128

  • Trudy Lewis, Advita Patel and Jenni Field: Working with leaders [podcast] (29 October)
    ‘A company can’t be led just from the top; it has to be led by all the people in it. Until we’re able to find our voice and influence leadership more, a lot of things won’t be delivered.’
  • Rachel Miller: How to work ON, not IN your business (26 October)
    ‘As a Consultant, I regularly ask my clients these types of questions and pose these conundrums to help them focus ON their internal communication, not IN it.’
  • Martin Flegg: Pod off (25 October)
    ‘There are certainly a lot of internal communication podcasts to choose from now. I wonder if there are actually too many, and if there is too much choice for internal communicators.’

Technology, media and digital

  • Stephen Waddington: How to present via Zoom (29 October)
    ‘In the shift to virtual we’ve lost the energy and serendipity of a physical event. I can’t wait to get back into a conference room or theatre.’
  • Paul Sutton with Cole Raven: Podcast analysis and outreach just got simple [podcast] (28 October)
    ‘Podcast discovery around any given subject is bad enough. But when it comes to publicly available analytics, well they’re pretty much non-existent. Get tasked with researching podcasts and your heart must sink. That is, until now.’
  • Laura Sutherland: Laura talks to Kerry Sheehan about AI and about the challenges and opportunities in PR [podcast] (27 October)
    ‘The #AIinPR Panel strongly advocates that PR practitioners must be part of all AI build and deployment teams. The reason for that is shown by the exam results fiasco. Ethical AI is very much our role.’
  • Stuart Bruce: Fake news fools news media with Woolworths high street relaunch (28 June)
    ‘On the morning of 27 October 2020 an unverified Twitter account which didn’t even link to a website tweeted that the popular retail brand Woolworths would be returning to the high street. People started to retweet the original tweet and Woolworths was soon the top trend for the UK.’
  • Claire Walker: Love shopping. Love tech. Love retail tech. (26 October)
    ‘There are literally hundreds – if not thousands – of new retail-tech start-ups making life easier for retailers, brands and shoppers alike, but these are just some that have caught our eyes recently. We’ll be following them closely over the coming months, seeing how they shape their reputations, as well as the lives of others.’

https://www.linkedin.com/embed/feed/update/urn:li:share:6725336464487411712

#prstudent #bestPRblogs

  • Izzy Muspratt (Solent): A Witness of Woe: Attenborough’s Heart Ache (29 October)
    ‘Below are the key warnings taken from the documentary should changes not be made. Reading these predictions, many of which set to come about in my lifetime, is hideously distressing.’
  • Elouise Newman (Solent): Culture Clash: How Have Our Fashion Habits Become So Unethical? (29 October)
    ‘This blog will look at how the culture of being more environmentally and ethically aware is clashing with the throw-away, instantaneous and looks-focussed culture of fashion.’
  • Cheyenne Doyle (Ulster): The Beauty of Social Media Activism (28 October)
    ‘The consumer journey is now so much more than simply purchasing products; customers want to support businesses that are driven by a strong political message which aligns with their own.’
  • Emma Street (Lincoln): My final year (26 October)
    ‘Today I attended 3 lectures online and realised how much I miss the experience of Uni. I miss meeting my friends before the lecture and heading down, grabbing a coffee on the way, I miss learning directly from my tutors and being able to chat with them, I miss walking through campus afterwards and contemplating stopping at the pub with my friends for drinks after.’
  • Lottie Kelly (Ulster): Events, Meetings and Membership: My Year as CIPR Student Representative (26 October)
    ‘For a student, it can feel intimidating attending meetings in which members are discussing sometimes unfamiliar topics. Whilst you may not be an PR expert, having a student perspective is still valuable to CIPR.’

Related topics

#bestPRblogs #prstudent #ThisWeekinPR