This week in PR (9 February)

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.

Walking into the weekend, Madalina Buzdugan (@madabuzz on Instagram)
Walking into the weekend, Madalina Buzdugan (@madabuzz on Instagram)

News in brief

  • The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled against Poundlands naughty Elf Christmas campaign, but with no sanction other than a demand not to run the same campaign again.
  • There are signs of global collaboration around a drive towards professional ethics (see this statement from Global Alliance).
  • The Prime Minister has announced a government review into the future of newspapers. In separate news, Trinity Mirror has agreed to buy Richard Desmond’s Express and Star newspapers and OK! magazine.
  • The PRCA and IABC have signed a cooperation agreement and will share activities across the Europe, Middle East and North Africa region.
  • The CIPR has established an #AIinPR panel chaired by Stephen Waddington to explore the impact of artificial intelligence on business and public relations.
  • The New York Times has published a feature-length review of events leading to the collapse of Bell Pottinger:‘How Bell Pottinger went bankrupt is a tale of corporate skulduggery that seems lifted from “House of Cards,” the P.R. edition.’
  • Taylor Bennett Foundation is to run an internship programme in Scotland (its first outside London).

Calendar

Our events listing is now on a separate page.

Thought leaders: Pick of the posts

These are the editor’s pick of posts about public relations this week. Recommendations are welcome to editor@prplace.com or @pr_place

#prstudent #bestPRblogs

Here’s a very useful resource for PR students and graduates:

And here’s our pick of this week’s posts by those studying public relations and/or aspiring to work in PR.

  • Jessica Pardoe (Liverpool John Moores, 3): Staying sane in your Final Year of University (8 February)
    ‘You’ve heard the horror stories of dissertations, but really, it’s not so daunting as long as you start it early.’
  • Alex Slaine (Ulster, 2): Oh Poundland (7 February)
    ‘With the image of the elf behind bars and their lack-lustre apology it is clear Poundland are stuck in their ways and are not willing to accept the ruling.’
  • Orlagh Shanks (Liverpool John Moores, 3): #PlacementYear: Month Six (6 February)
    ‘I was sipping oysters and drinking champagne last week, but that’s beside the point. I’m still poor – it was oyster happy hour and yes that really is a thing.’
  • Georgia McCalmont (Ulster, 4): #MeToo what is it and why should I care? (6 February)
    ‘Unlike many kinds of social-media activism, it isn’t a call to action or the beginning of a campaign, culminating in a series of protests and speeches and events.’
  • Katya Hamilton-Smith (LCC/UAL, 1): Is a PR degree really worth it? (5 February)
    ‘I do see people that don’t really try at university and to be quite honest I don’t see the point in wasting 3 years at a university and tens of thousands of pounds to get a job that you may have just as easily got without your degree.’
  • Tierna Garvin (Ulster, 4): Students: we have it all… Right? (3 February)
    ‘University is a scary place filled with people who are supposed to be ‘grown ups’. Well, I can tell you the majority of us here are far from grownups and many of us don’t even know how to ‘adult’ yet.’