Beyond the Noise - the PRWeek podcast

In this episode, PRWeek UK editor John Harrington and news editor Arvind Hickman discuss Ogilvy UK CEO Michael Frohllch's sudden move to Weber Shandwick; the Finn Partners acquisition of a digital agency; the impact COVID has had on internal comms; and whether social media is safe for brands after Thierry Henry deactivated his accounts following racist abuse. Manifest's Julian Obubo joins the show...

Returning to the office full-time looks like a thing of the past, as the majority of PR professionals prefer flexible working. PRWeek’s UK editor John Harrington and news editor Arvind Hickman take a deep dive into what the future of work looks like. The pair also take a look at whether anyone is likely to replace Number 10’s outgoing comms director James Slack, and the inaugural PR Cup Winter Ser...

W Communications founder Warren Johnson believes spring will be a crunch time for many PR agencies, predicting a "smaller second wave" of business closures. In a brutally honest discussion, Warren explains how the Government's timeline to ease lockdown will impact the industry and broader economy, as well as why he believes social media companies are in need of greater scrutiny and regulation. Hos...

Women's careers and mental health have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID crisis. This special International Women's Day episode, guest hosted by Women in PR president Anna Geffertt, examines the issues in relation to the comms industry, and ask what progress we can expect in 2021. Featuring Edelman's Gerry Wisniewski, Mayor of London's Sneha Patel and Powerscourt's Ngozi Emeagi. Hosted...

In the UK, Europe, Australia and the US, regulators are planning to clampdown on Big Tech and social media like never before to combat the spread of fake news, cyberbullying and protect user privacy. But what does regulation look like, how will it impact the way we use social media and what is the repercussions for PR and communications? Experts in this field – Battenhall's Drew Benvie, AxiCom's A...

As the UK's COVID death toll passes 100,000, our panel discusses the comms challenges around vaccines and other major industry issues to look out for this year. Featuring: Hearst Director of PR & Communications Effie Kanyua; Cicero/AMO Executive Chair Iain Anderson; Hope&Glory Co-Founder and CCO James Gordon-Macintosh; Finsbury, Glover, Hering UK, Middle East & Asia CEO Faeth Birch; and Pretty Gre...

The technology industry has thrived during the COVID crisis by helping society adapt to lockdowns and a new way of isolated living. This episode looks at how tech PR has helped firms get cut through in a frenetic news cycle, whether it has helped the sector recover from the 'techlash' and how this has impacted comms agencies. Feat: Comms Co's Ilona Hitel, Fanclub's Adrian Ma, 3 Monkeys Zeno's Davi...

Agency leaders are concerned about the impact of COVID lockdowns on the mental health of employees heading into winter. This podcast takes a look at how the crisis is impacting mental health, what agencies are doing to provide vital support and whether an industry-wide approach is needed. Featuring: Edelman's Luciana Berger, Don't Cry Wolf's John Brown, The Romans' Indigo Le Fèvre, FleishmanHillar...

By their own admission, PR’s industry bodies have not done enough to address ethnic diversity, but is all that about to change? We speak to leaders and diversity chiefs of the PRCA & CIPR about why they have moved too slowly and how they plan to improve the diversity and opportunities for BME talent in the industry. Featuring: PRCA's Francis Ingham & Barbara Phillips, and the CIPR's Alastair McCap...

Jewish PR leaders David Fraser (Ready10), Sophie Raine (Ketchum), Graham Goodkind (Frank) and Natalie Neave (Tin Man) discuss the Wiley attacks and social media response, the scourge of antisemitism and their personal stories of hurt, whether it exists in PR, and how the communications industry can tackle it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The coronavirus pandemic has been challenging for established PR agencies with many battling for survival. Despite this, many new agencies have launched. This episode will take a closer look at four of them to find out why they decided to launch, the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. Guests include: Shook co-founder Gemma Moroney, Hard Numbers co-founder Darryl Sparey, Coldr founder Kam...

Only three agencies (Manifest, Blurred and InFusion) have earned accreditation to a new scheme that aims to improve racial diversity in PR. This episode looks at how they qualified for Blueprint accreditation and why this is such an important and timely industry initiative. Panellists also discuss the reality of racism in PR and what else can be done to tackle it. Feat: Manifest's Julian Obubo, Bl...

The government's new COVID quarantine rules have been described as 'ridiculous', 'daft' and will have a devastating impact on travel and hospitality. The industry is fighting back through a PR campaign led by The PC Agency founder Paul Charles and backed by 500 businesses. Charles, Kuoni head of comms Rachel O'Reilly and PRWeek editor-in-chief Danny Rogers discuss whether the Quash Quarantine camp...

BP has doubled down on its ambition to become a net zero carbon emitting business by 2050 despite the crippling impacts of the global pandemic. Oil prices plummeted to below zero in the US, supply has dried up and businesses have been forced into drastic cost-cutting. Communications is playing a critical role in helping BP and other energy giants manage the crisis and keep their climate change pla...

After a dramatic shift in messaging to the ambiguous 'Stay Alert' slogan – some believe the government is losing a grip on its comms during the coronavirus crisis. Repetitive daily briefings and combative relations with parts of the press have fuelled concern. BCW's head of strategic media Steve Hawkes, crisis comms consultant Amanda Coleman, MHP head of media Ian Kirby and W20 Group president Ann...

The coronavirus pandemic could forever change the communications industry and how clients value certain services. Freuds CEO Arlo Brady, Grayling Europe, UK & Ireland CEO Sarah Scholefield and Cicero/AMO executive chair Iain Anderson discuss which service areas have been critical – including internal comms, purpose and crisis comms – how their businesses are handling the crisis, and how the PR ind...

Expert judges from PRWeek UK's Best Places to Work Awards join The PR Show to examine what sets apart leading employers in the communications industry. The episode explores recent progress in mental health support, flexible working and 'flexwashing', what the coronavirus tells us about working practices among PR employers, and where more progress is needed. Panellists include Alison Clarke, busine...

Communications and PR is playing a critical role helping businesses in some of the industries hardest hit by the coronavirus crisis. Rooster managing director James Brooke and Palm PR founding director Liam Keogh take us through the challenges faced by travel, tourism and hospitality, and how the crisis is having a major impact on their own agencies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more...

Business communications during the coronavirus crisis requires a completely new approach to messaging and tone. People do not want to be marketed to and companies have quickly had to move away from behaving like brands towards acting like businesses that serve a genuine purpose. Blurred CEO Nik Govier and Frank managing partner Andrew Bloch join PRWeek's Arvind Hickman to debate how to strike the...

3 Mar, 09:20A record number of brands are sponsoring athletes and teams at the Tokyo Olympic Games. It proves the 'five rings' are still a major draw – but can sponsorship in such a cluttered environment deliver value? British Olympic Association’s Tim Ellerton, H+K’s Jamie Corr, M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment's Jamie-Wynne Morgan and The Playbook’s Nick Meakin discuss how brands are making the...

27 Nov 2019, 15:35PR professionals from ethnic minority backgrounds are being held back in their careers in what is a largely white industry. A combination of prejudice in the recruitment process, unconscious bias that favours white employees, apathy about the issue, and a lack of understanding is holding back BAME talent. BME PR Pros’ Elizabeth Bananuka, Manifest’s Julian Obubo and WX’s Zoe Staff...

25 Nov 2019, 14:17Is it possible for an industry that is known for its 'always on' culture and insane deadlines to work flexibly? The answer is 'yes', but to date there are only a handful of agencies that do flexible working well. Some leading lights in flexible working, Golin's Bib Hilton, The PR Network's George Blizzard, Radioactive PR's Rich Leigh and Sesame's Emily Buckland, share their exper...

14 Oct 2019, 15:57Agencies and brands are investing more of their marketing budgets into social cause campaigns, but not all are getting it right. Woke-washing has become a concern and some marketers are reluctant to be called out as hypocrites. Global expert on purpose marketing Sue Garrard used to lead Unilever’s sustainability and comms program. She joins Blurred co-founder Nik Govier and Freud...

30 Jul 2019, 15:02Agency leaders and many marketers believe the pitching process isn’t fit for purpose, but is this view shard by new business and procurement consultants? The answer is ‘yes’ and ‘no’. The process is far from perfect and can be improved, but us still a vital mechanism in how clients choose agency partners. That’s the verdict of procurement guru Tina Fegent and new business experts...

10 Jul 2019, 17:03At this year’s Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity,established PR consultancies failed to score the top prize in the PR Lions. Is this a sign that PR agencies are still lagging in the creative stakes or is their cause for optimism? Edelman’s Michelle Hutton, Weber Shandwick’s James Nester and The Romans' OttilieRatcliffe join us to discuss creativity in PR. Hosted on Acast. See a...