This week in PR (6 December)
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.
News in brief
Absolutely thrilled to have been elected Chair of @PRCA_UK Council for 2020! I look forward to building on work done to date on diversity and the value of #PR & #comms and with a new focus on ethics and #socialimpact of the profession.
— Simon Francis (@si_francis) December 5, 2019
- Here’s a list of 25 innovators in the EMEA region, with 13 from the UK. 52% work in-house and 60% are women. (via Holmes Report)
- Another example of the alignment of public relations with management consultancy. In the US, Weber Shandwick and its management consultancy practice United Minds have introduced services to help organisations address cultural risk (via Weber Shandwick).
- The PRCA has updated its Communication Management Standard (CMS) – formerly Consultancy Management Standard. Accreditation will now take place on an annual cycle and it covers in-house teams as well as consultancies (via PRCA).
- ‘Unilever has announced long-serving executive Conny Braams as its new chief digital and marketing officer, filling the gap left by the departure of Keith Weed in December last year.’ (via Holmes Report)
- ‘Lib Dems head of media suspended over fake email allegations’ (via PR Week)
- ‘Over 60 jobs lost at Leeds PR firm Brass Agency’ (via Yorkshire Post)
Academic and education
Purpose and professionalism
I’d have to disagree there Max – public relations is a completely separate discipline of which media relations is one part. Our business is building relationships and keeping the licence to operate – for which we use many channels and methods #PowerandInfluence
— Catherine Arrow (@Caanz) December 4, 2019
- KPMG Business of Brexit podcast – Mark Essex with Iain Anderson and others: BLEEP! Business (no date)
‘The second biggest issue on my desk in 2019 apart from Brexit was what I call the Greta Thunberg effect: and that’s not just about green, that’s also about purpose… Business has a great story to tell, but they’re just not doing it at the moment.’
Consulting and careers
- Ben Smith: Rachel Bell, author of Start-Ups, Pivots and Pop-Ups on the PRmoment podcast (5 December)
‘The truth on the book is that I’ve long had a passion around entrepreneurship. I started a business called Shine with the vision of giving people the opportunity to shine.’ - Paul Sutton with Gini Dietrich: Running on empty: Business challenges, burnout and signs of recession (part 1) [podcast] (4 December)
‘Looking back, I was far too optimistic about what we could achieve and about my ability to coach a sales team.’ - Rich Leigh: PR in a Car – Episode Two – ‘Being the Best Client’ [vlog] (29 November)
‘The best briefs have considered the budget for PR. It’s a time business: we sell our time and expertise. If you’ve got more, we can do more with that. The best clients are the ones who want to know what you’re doing. Be curious, question, prod in a constructive way.’
Public and third sectors
- Carrington Communications: CommsCon 19: How the church went digital (1 December)
‘At Cision’s CommsCon 2019 conference for PR professionals, we were treated to a great presentation from Adrian Harris – the church’s first ever head of digital – about how he’s helped the CofE to connect with people like never before.’ - Niel Stewart: If people think they can do what we do then we’re doing it wrong (1 December)
‘Everyone can communicate – that’s not the issue here. The issue is – what is the difference between a professional communicator and everyone else? If everyone can communicate, what is it that sets the professionals apart?’
- Ian Curwen: What I’ve learned from judging the UnAwards – 6 key lessons (29 November)
‘Over my five years of judging, there has been a huge shift from campaigns and ideas based on gut feel towards those that are based on data, evidence and audience insight.’
Wellbeing, gender and diversity
- Martha Nahar: Changing the face of the communications sector (2 December)
‘Not only was it the first time I’ve ever seen so many people from BAME backgrounds under one roof, but it was clearer than ever we all had one common goal: changing the face of the communications sector and earning our place at the table.’ - Jo Twiselton: Are you operating at your B.E.S.T? (4 December)
‘As we know from the results of the State of the Profession Report 2018/19 and other research findings published this year, the topic of mental health and wellbeing is high on the agenda for PR and communication professionals. We’re pretty sure that the rapid rate of change in technology is one of the potential issues behind this.’ - Anonymous: You don’t have to be mad to work here – just get help (2 December)
‘I guess that I’ve been dealing with my own mental health issues for nearly 20 years now – a mix of stress, anxiety and depression (yes I know that spells SAD – it made me chuckle too).’
Measurement and evaluation
Can we prove the value of #PR in the broader marketing mix, asks the panel at @PRCA_UK Measurement Conference. Well said @JonnyBentwood & @allison_spray who point out that PR is not always part of marketing. It’s also about reputation, trust, relationships (& not just awareness). pic.twitter.com/dp3ixrbfVF
— Liz Male MBE (@lizmale) December 3, 2019
Brands, storytelling and influence
- Scott Guthrie: Influencer marketing: year in review 2019 (5 December)
‘In this influencer marketing review I trawled back through my articles and notes to capture the major themes within our industry month-by-month.’
Internal communication
The full 'Who's Listening?' report is now available as a free download. Covers good practice, barriers, different listening styles and implications for #internalcomms #listentoemployees https://t.co/8WzMI8Q45k pic.twitter.com/lsPr7m7ukg
— Dr Kevin Ruck (@AcademyKev) December 2, 2019
- Anonymous: Starting IC at a start-up: a cautionary tale (4 December)
‘Having spent most of my working life in traditional (read boring) organisations with strong legacies (read archaic), the opportunity to set up an IC function from scratch at a young, innovation-driven company was too much too resist. Little did I know that I was about to embark on the most bizarre work experience I’ve had so far.’ - Advita Patel: End of an era… (no date)
‘Today is my last day in an in-house role and it feels really strange not to have another role to go straight into. This is because in the new year I will be officially launching my comms consultancy business Comms Rebel!’ - Joe McMann: Behind the curtain – Internal communications at O2 (2 December)
‘We use insights and data to bolster our own reputation, but also to have better conversations with our stakeholders. Insights become evidence to back up assertions that the team is making.’
Media and digital
Content isn’t king, CONTEXT is. Until we learn that simple truth we will be gobbled up by marketing. PR is so much more than content. Why do we continue to use phrases that diminish our contribution? Sorry @EllaMinty this one gets me! https://t.co/ZWKnoq2imt
— Anne Gregory (@GregsAnne) December 4, 2019
- Stephen Waddington: Thank you Vuelio for nurturing the UK’s growing digital influencer community (2 December)
‘Blogging has become an important part of my life in the past decade. It’s a means of thinking out loud, sharing ideas, and building a community.’ - Gary Taylor: Self-censor or revise? (29 November)
‘If you don’t want people finding your embarrassing tweets from years ago, the simple rule is not to have posted them in the first place. Take responsibility for your own actions. Life doesn’t have a backspace-delete key.’
#prstudent #bestPRblogs
https://twitter.com/thoughtsaboutpr/status/1201168371640918016
- Hannah Chambers (Ulster): The 9 Best Inclusive PR and Marketing Campaigns of 2019 (5 December)
‘I’ve seen a few people starting to round up their favourite and most effective PR and Marketing Campaigns from 2019, so I thought I’d have a go myself at rounding up my Top 10 Inclusive PR and Marketing Campaigns of the year.’
- Abi Kitcher (Solent): Spotify Wrapped 2019: The personalised music campaign of the year that we love to share! (5 December)
‘The campaign has officially taken off today as you can now see ‘Your Year in Music’. Quite frankly, mine is cringe but I love it.’ - Sarah Sweeney (Ulster): The Amazon Rainforest Fires of 2019 (5 December)
‘It’s hard to discuss the issues surrounding the Amazon rainforest fire without mentioning Brazil’s current president, Jair Bolsonaro. Spoiler Alert: He is not one of the good guys.’ - Emma Rogers (Solent): Spend & be festive (5 December)
‘The treat yourself epidemic has escalated drastically recently. People tend to spend money just because they can; ‘Black Friday’ and ‘Cyber Monday’ are a great example of this.’ - Niamh Murray (Ulster): Peloton’s advertising disaster (4 December)
‘The ad was criticised for being “sexist”, with people saying a man buying his wife an exercise bike might be seen as an indication that he wants her to lose weight. I mean, it wouldn’t exactly boost your ego, would it?’ - Charlotte Price (Sunderland): Can social media really control your life? (5 December)
‘I thought I had to look a certain way because that was what I saw on social media. I thought I had to live my life in a certain way because that was the life people were portraying on social media. I thought it was only acceptable to have materialistic things because that’s what everyone else had.’ - Kirby Axon (Ulster): Why I chose to study Part-Time (3 December)
‘I still find it surreal that young people at the age of 16 are asked to choose a career they want to do for the rest of their lives. I am 26 years old now and if I am completely honest, I am still not completely sure.’ - Catherine Maguire (Ulster): BREAKING NEWS: Instagram Likes MIA (2 December)
‘It’s probably hard for most of us to imagine a world where Likes don’t matter. I remember when I was 14 and a selfie I got before Clubland got 24 likes on Facebook. I’ve never felt as famous.’