This week in PR (5 May)

News

The PRCA invites  friends, colleagues, and members of the PR and communications community to a Francis Ingham memorial service on Monday 10th July at 11.30 at St. Bartholomew’s The Great, West Smithfield, London, to be followed by drinks at a nearby venue. Places are limited and attendees must register in advance. There will also be a live stream of the service for those unable to attend in person.

To register to attend the event in person or for the live stream please email karen.wilkinson@prca.org.uk.

The coronation

• Dafydd Rees: The Crown at the crossroads: Purpose not privilege (4 May)
  ‘My thought is that the monarchy needs to focus on purpose, not privilege. Charles is Head of State, but does it make sense in 2023 that he be Supreme Governor of the Church of England, with the power and patronage to appoint bishops and archbishops?’
• Simon Neville: Spoiler: King Charles won’t remember the corporates who wished him good luck (3 May)
  ‘The itch to say something during an event like the Coronation reminds me all too well of budget days where every company feels it is imperative that they impart their wisdom of the government’s latest changes and the impact it will have on their sector.’
• Tom Haynes: Trade Tuesday: Coronation takeover (2 May)
  ‘As we celebrate the coronation this weekend, it is important to consider the key diplomatic role that the King plays, both as head of state and the head of the Commonwealth, a political association that continues to expand and grow.’

Purpose, climate and ESG

• Sophie Morello: Purpose on Payday (28 April)
  ‘Despite the UK’s previously applauded leadership in the race to net zero, it seems that the momentum gained during the COP26 presidency is petering out (for now at least).’
• Stuart Lambert: Blurred launches the first methodology and tool for measuring your ESGP Impact Gap (26 April)
  ‘The terms ‘ESG’ and ‘Purpose’ dominate much of contemporary corporate, investor and brand communication conversations. These two terms are treated in many quarters as innately separate (as indeed are many of the above conversations). In fact, they are inseparable. One cannot exist properly without the other. Or should not, at least as far as the corporate board room is concerned.’

Consulting, skills and careers

• Stephen Waddington: African public relations agency recognised by The Financial Times (3 May)
  ‘BHM has been recognised by The Financial Times as one of Africa’s Top 100 fastest-growing companies. It’s unusual for a privately held public relations firm to be recognised by the publication. It’s recognition of the vision and drive of founder Ayeni Adekunle, in building BHM over the past 17 years. He has built the organisation from Lagos, Nigeria, without external funding or debt.’
• Frankie Oliver with Danny Rogers and John Harrington: The true health of UK PR agencies: Top 150 trends revealed [podcast] (3 May)
  ‘The Top 150 is our biggest project of the year on PR Week. The results are very good for most sectors this year: the overall industry growth is 15%. Pretty much every sector is on the up.’

Gender, diversity and wellbeing

• Maja Pawinska Sims with Laura Wheeler, Jo Ogunleye, Delia Williams-Falokun and Sarah Rowley: Podcast: Google’s All-Female Comms Leadership Team (4 May)
  ‘We’re an all-woman team but there’s a bit more balance in the wider EMEA team. Being a woman – and a black woman – has informed my professional journey.’
• Calm Edged Rebels: Take control of your life [podcast] (28 April)
  ‘In the world that we live in, so full of complexity, all we need sometimes is a moment of calm, of becoming present.’

Politics, public affairs and public sphere

CIPR bemoans "complete lack of transparency" of lobbying rules following latest scandal.

Read more and reaction from @CIPR_CEO following reports in the @guardian yesterday.https://t.co/uHeFt1MrxH pic.twitter.com/6CRWlPxhde

— Chartered Institute of Public Relations (@CIPR_Global) May 4, 2023

• James Surallie: Local elections 2023: A test for both Sunak and Starmer (4 May)
  ‘For Rishi Sunak, this will be his first electoral test since becoming Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader six months ago. While for Sir Keir Starmer, he will be hoping that Labour’s sustained lead in the polls can be replicated at the ballot box – showing they are on the path to government.’
• Stuart Thomson: Making The Transport Future A Reality: The Role We Must All Play (3 May)
  ‘In recent weeks, the Government has made announcements about autonomous vehicles, the world’s first self-driving bus and allowing hands-free driving for one type of car on motorways.’
• Miguel Castaneda: Is the Elections Act 2022 suppressing youth voices? (3 May)
  ‘In my opinion, the implications of this policy may damage turnout in UK elections, particularly among younger voters. This is a significant concern, given that voter turnout has been declining in Europe, with the UK being one of the most affected countries.’

Brands, content, community and creativity

• Ben Smith with Lora Martyr, Daniel Glover and Indy Selvarajah: The Global Creativity Review for April on the PRmoment Podcast (3 May)
  ‘They’ve gone through the archive and installed a Penguin Books vending machine at Exeter railway station. A simple campaign playing on the heritage of Penguin that got loads of coverage.’
• Rebecca Douglas: The Transformative Power of Storytelling (3 May)
  ‘In the digital age, customers are not just looking for products or services; they seek meaningful connections with the brands they choose to engage with – remember that Seth Godin quote from about ten years ago….”people no longer buy products and services they buy stories, relations and magic” – it’s still very true today.’

Research, data, measurement and evaluation

• Stella Bayles with Richard Bagnall and Darryl Sparey: Coverage to Capital [podcast] (no date)
  ‘A great way to demonstrate the link between activity and outcome is funding. We identified that the companies that raised most funding also generated the most media coverage.’

Crisis, risk and reputation

• Amanda Coleman: 10 minutes with Chaya Mistry

  (2 May)
  ‘In a crisis, I’ve seen there’s a tendency to manage rather than lead; we slip into trying to manage the crisis rather than leading the crisis. When there’s a crisis certainty goes out of the window. What leaders can do before a crisis is have some self-awareness about who they are and what’s important to them.’

• Sheena Thomson: Extreme crisis planning: Hostile and high-risk environments (1 May)
  ‘Events involving mass evacuations of foreign nationals escaping outbreaks of violence and conflict always remind me of my time living in high-risk countries overseas, and my own experience and personal responsibilities to execute a sudden ‘bailout’ plan.’

Internal communication

• Dan Holden: Our top takeaways from attune London 2023 (3 May)
  ‘A great point was made on the difference between complicated and complex. Complicated is something that’s difficult but solvable and complex is something impossible to predict (so it can bubble in the background for years).’

Media, digital and technology

• Ashwinder Bedi: Communicating impact in tech: why your messages must map against resilience (2 May)
  ‘A resilient business is one that quickly adapts to disruption while maintaining continuous business operations and safeguarding its people, assets and overall brand equity.’
• Neville Hobson: The Twitter end game (30 April)
  ‘The phrase “end of days” came to my mind as I reviewed a number of critical news reports during this past week about the current state of Twitter. The forthcoming demise of Twitter, sooner or later, is the strong thread running through all of this content.’
• Dan Slee: TWEET ZERO: It’s time to scroll away from Twitter (28 April)
  ‘I wouldn’t waste your money on Twitter Blue. Stay on Twitter as a “regular user” but make an escape plan, that’s your insurance policy in case you need to move very fast or if there’s a sudden demise. If you don’t have one yet, there’s still time. Just.’