This week in PR (8 September)
Profession and ethics
- Stuart Bruce: The future of public relations in Europe – European Communication Monitor 2023 (7 September)
‘The report finds that digital transformation is increasingly important for both PR agencies and in-house communications teams. This transformation isn’t just about channels, such as the switch from traditional media to social media, but is about fundamental changes to professional practice impacting workflows and processes.’ - Stephen Waddington: The future of European public relations: key findings from the ECM report (7 September)
‘The latest edition of the European Communication Monitor (ECM) identifies public relations management’s most important strategic issues in the past 15 years.’ - David Olajide: Navigating the Winds of Change: Key Trends in Global Corporate Affairs (6 September)
‘Data is our starting point as we summarise the findings of The 2023 Global Corporate Affairs Survey Report.’ - Nicola Nel: Authenticity in the PR industry: The South African Perspective (no date)
‘There are a number of things that businesses can do to safeguard against inadvertent inauthenticity in their communications. First, it is important to be clear about your brand’s values and mission. What do you stand for? What are you trying to achieve? Once you know your values, you can ensure that your communications are consistent with these.’
Purpose, climate and ESG
SUSTAINABILITY COMMUNICATION DIPLOMA
Great listening to @LEGO_Group @DiageoGB @Merck heads of #esg on how their companies are reporting on their #Sustainability and #ESG metrics. #sreu #Reuters event pic.twitter.com/2zdTIFgPnF
— Gihan A.M Hyde (@Gehanam) September 6, 2023
Consulting, skills and careers
- Stuart Thomson: Building Success: The Importance of Role Models (7 September)
‘In the ever-evolving world of work, navigating the complexities of one’s career path can often feel like a daunting journey into uncharted territory. However, there exists a guiding light that can illuminate the path and offer invaluable wisdom – look for a workplace role model.’ - Stella Bayles with Simon Collard: How to Make Your Agency Profitable [podcast] (no date)
‘What problem are you solving for your client? Are you solving a vital problem? If you’re not, then you’re liable to be cut. You have to make yourself an indispensable partner.’ - Frankie Oliver and John Harrington with Tom Symondson and Mike Robb: ‘Late payment is a massive issue’: what agencies want from clients, PRWeek podcast (6 September)
‘Looking back over the past 18 months it’s probably been as challenging an external environment as you could possibly ask for, whether it’s inflation, whether it’s geopolitical issues, or division in politics. Considering that [client-agency] relationships are in a really good place.’ - Ben Smith with Andrew Bloch: PR Pitches and mergers & acquisitions: September 2023 update [podcast] (5 September)
‘Teneo has won the AA corporate and financial brief: a brief all about showing how the AA is growing with long term potential. Powerscourt has won the financial and corporate comms brief for Rightmove which represents 95% of the UK property market.’
Public and third sectors
Sending my thoughts to all those managing comms @BhamCityCouncil https://t.co/Ajl9O1UOgg
— Mandy Pearse (@MandyPearse) September 5, 2023
- Dan Slee: SOCIAL RULES: 28 examples of social media policies and advice to beef yours up (3 September)
‘A good social media policy sets out how staff can use it and also how the organisation will use it.’
Politics, public affairs and public sphere
- Tim Le Couilliard: Caught on camera – unscripted truths (5 September)
‘Even the most seasoned media professionals can find themselves in a tight spot when live, and an ill-timed slip-up can haunt a career. While good interviews often go unnoticed, we all recognise a bad one when we see one.’
- Steve Richards: Ruthless Starmer Appoints a Team To Win And To Govern (5 September)
‘One shadow cabinet member described the changes to me as an ‘elite level Blairite coup’. The frontbencher, who remains in the shadow cabinet, noted that five former special advisers from the Blair era now have prominent posts.’
- David Patterson: Starmer puts Labour front bench on election footing (5 September)
‘A particularly interesting move is Pat McFadden to shadow cabinet office minister and Labour’s national campaign co-ordinator – putting him at the helm for Labour’s election drive.’
Brands, content, community and creativity
- Lucy Horsman: Champions of content – Q&A with Abs Gandhi and Magdalena Nowak from Snowflake (7 September)
‘The main thing that separates good content is having a clear argument, and a clear definition of that argument that taps into what audiences want to hear, or haven’t yet heard. It needs to be genuine; you can’t make things up because that’s what you think the audience wants to hear. You need evidence and facts to support your claims.’
Research, data, measurement and evaluation
- Rebecca Fitzgerald: Web Analytics and Traffic Terms for PRs and Marketers – A Simple Guide (5 September)
‘Below are answers to some of the most common questions the CoverageBook support team gets asked about web analytics, traffic, and metrics.’
Crisis, risk and reputation
- Tony Jaques: How a big brand can be a reputational liability (5 September)
‘When WHO recently declared aspartame to be a possible human carcinogen, thousands of products which use the artificial sweetener were potentially affected – including chewing gum and jellies and syrups and tabletop sugar substitutes like Equal – yet much of the media coverage around the world focussed heavily on just one product, Diet Coke.’ - Amanda Coleman: Another day another crisis communication lesson (5 September)
‘One of the most important points is always to recognise that you have a crisis on your hands. Don’t try to hide it, fudge it or bury it. The situation won’t go away it will just grow and develop into an even bigger headache. Whatever the problem is it can be more effectively managed by addressing it head on.’
- Heather Yaxley: Sensibility of humility (4 September)
‘Hubris is understood as over-confidence, arrogance and a belief in one’s own righteousness.’ - Rod Cartwright: The Rubiales ‘disasterclass’: you are defined by the attitudes and behaviours you tolerate (4 September)
‘Few scandals have dominated international news cycles to the same extent as the behaviour of Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) President, Luis Rubiales, following Spain’s victory over England in the Women’s World Cup Final.’
- Ella Minty: So Much Noise About A Kiss… (3 September)
‘He should have immediately come out and apologised, simply saying into the cameras: “Jenni, I am really sorry if I made you uncomfortable and caused you and your teammates significant distress. In the heat of the moment, I just didn’t think. I was so overwhelmed and ecstatic with your and the team’s achievement that my joy took a highly inappropriate form, and I am truly really ashamed of it. Please forgive me”.’
Behaviour and influence
- Barney Packer: How to craft effective online narratives with influencers (5 September)
‘Audiences are savvy and can quickly identify inauthentic content. By allowing influencers creative freedom and being transparent about the collaboration, brands can build trust with their audience and foster long-term relationships.’ - Scott Guthrie: Sammy Albon – Creator turned Senior Campaign Director [podcast] (7 September)
‘Before shifting agency side, Sammy was a full-time content creator for eight years alongside his twin brother. Together they ran three YouTube channels and multiple Twitter and Instagram accounts.’
- Stuart Mills: Nudge theory: what 15 years of research tells us about its promises and politics (6 September)
‘The 2008 book which set out the idea – Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth and Happiness – sold more than 2 million copies. But its influence went way beyond sales figures.’
Internal communication
Internal Communication Diploma
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- Ruth Dale: Internal Comms Case Study: How to use COM_B to increase action by 89% with Josephine Graham [podcast] (7 September)
‘At the time, one of the challenges I had at work was compliance around performance management (setting objectives with your line manager). I started with the audience (capability, motivation, opportunity) and I brainstormed. It dawned on me we had two different groups: people who did not value the process, and people who were doing it but not logging it.’ - Jenni Field with Sarah Black: 5 tips to build stronger global teams (6 September)
‘By developing a global mindset that appreciates and celebrates other cultures and experiences, you can create a stronger and more harmonious team. Think “global” first, and you’ll not only strengthen your team but also open up new opportunities and tackle challenges at a broader level.’
- Ruth Dale: Internal Comms Case Study: How to use COM_B to increase action by 89% with Josephine Graham [podcast] (7 September)
Media, digital and technology
- Dafydd Rees: Generative AI and Reputation Risk: Remember your eyes can deceive you. (5 September)
‘In less than eight weeks’ time, world leaders gather at Bletchley Park here in the UK for a summit on the safety of artificial intelligence. They must decide how to regulate what is both the most promising and the most challenging technological transformation of our time.’
