Digital Download with Paul Sutton

ASMR, or Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response to give it its full name, has been gaining lots of attention from marketers over the last few months. But what are opportunities? Are ASMR artists influential? And what actually is it? In this episode of the Digital Download Podcast I talk to ASMR artists Creative Calm and Scottish Murmurs, who between them have 400,000 YouTube subscribers. We discuss...

Both podcasting and blogging have been around for nearly thirty years. But whereas the former has undergone a huge resurgence due to developments in mobile technology and 4G, the latter is in decline as readers switch to more immersive forms of content. Both still hold significant benefits for marketing communications, but which is better? In this episode of the Digital Download Podcast I debate t...

A year ago I wrote a rather controversial blog post titled ‘The Four Horsemen of the PR-Pocalypse’ that outlined four key threats to the communications industry. I asserted that the prevalence of fake news, an influencer bubble, declining content visibility in both social and traditional media, and the evolution of artificial intelligence are coming together to form a perfect storm aro...

As users turn away from public social networks to using private groups and dark social media, reaching those people with branded messages is becoming more and more difficult. In accordance with this, employee advocacy is on the rise, with an increasing number of companies focusing on their own staff to spread their messages far and wide. In this episode of the Digital Download Podcast I talk to Ke...

Artificial intelligence has been variously painted as the next big thing, the technology that will all-but-kill communications and the development that will increase efficiency and productivity exponentially. But where does the truth lie? Is AI all just hype? Do we really need to bother with it yet when no-one else is? Katie King is a digital transformation and management consultant, and was recen...

Facebook has taken a battering in the last few months from the media, from marketers and from legislators. And yet on the face of it, users don’t seem to care that much. Or do they? In the opening episode of Season Four of the Digital Download podcast, MD of Third City PR Chris Blackwood and I debate one of the big issues of the digital marketing industry at the current time. Can Facebook su...

In the final episode of the Digital Download Podcast of the year, I welcome back Arment Dietrich CEO and Spin Sucks head honcho Gini Dietrich to review the last 12 months and look ahead to the next year. We analyse some of the predictions we made back in January on S1E1 of the podcast, and we try to project where we believe the digital communications industry is headed over the next 12 months. We...

The public relations industry is one of the most insecure professions around. They might be universally despised, but traffic wardens believe in themselves more than PR people. In this episode of the Digital Download podcast I address some of the conversations driving the industry over the last month and take the opportunity to voice some frustrations that have been building recently. It’s a...

Every year the PRCA Digital PR report throws up some unexpected findings from the world of digital communications, and this year is no different. Among the headlines are that although PR teams are controlling more social and digital media activity, they’re less confident in measuring it! In this episode of the Digital Download podcast I talk to Danny Whatmough, Chair of the PRCA Digital Grou...

Diversity is a hot topic in the public relations and communications industry. But while issues such as the gender pay gap and mental health receive a lot of attention, other issues such as racial equality, sexual orientation and disability do not. In addition, the industry does not appear to be making much, if any progress. In this episode of the Digital Download podcast I talk to Sara Hawthorn, h...

The convergence of public relations, social media and SEO is nearly complete, and one area where the lines are now completely blurred is that of authority link building. And yet PR professionals still question their ability to build links that impact search rankings and are confused by how to go about it. In this episode of the Digital Download podcast I talk to Andy Barr, owner of 10 Yetis, to ad...

Advances in digital communications technology over the last few years have made the ability to work from anywhere at any time a reality. Whether it’s automated processes or a greater ability to share information quickly and effectively, the world of PR work is changing rapidly before our eyes. In this episode of the Digital Download podcast I talk to Rich Leigh, founder of Radioactive PR, ab...

It’s no secret that the media has changed beyond all recognition in the last ten years, with print circulations down by 50% and digital news sites struggling to turn a profit. As a result, the symbiotic relationship between journalists and public relations professionals has become even more strained. In this episode of the Digital Download podcast I talk to veteran tech and business journali...

There are good PR stunts and there are bad PR stunts. The good ones create a massive groundswell of publicity and awareness that can help to propel a brand’s fame and reputation to a new level. The bad ones float something large down the Thames… In this episode of the Digital Download podcast I chat to co-founder of Young in Spirit Camilla Brown about Collagin, the collagen-infused gin...

There is no escaping the march of technology and the impact it is having on our professional lives. And yet some more senior PR and communications professionals are running scared when the simple fact is that we all have to embrace change to remain relevant. In this episode of the Digital Download podcast I chat to author and founder of Zude PR, David Sawyer, about the journey he’s gone thro...

Last week Brewdog came under fire for a story that turned out not only to be untrue, but that came from a hard-to-identify source. It is the perfect example of the challenges facing brands in a post-Trump, post-Brexit world where misinformation holds as much if not more weight than the truth. In this episode of the Digital Download podcast I discuss the phenomenon of fake news with Alex Myers, CEO...

When Nike published its latest advertisement featuring racial injustice campaigner Colin Kaepernick, it sparked a torrent of abuse for the brand from those who disagree with Kaepernick’s stance. It also prompted an outpouring of admiration from supportive consumers and marketers alike. To say it is controversial is an understatement. In this episode of the Digital Download podcast I discuss...

In the opening episode of Season Three of the Digital Download podcast, we take a look at some of the emerging technologies that digital communications professionals need to start paying attention to. Using Gartner’s Hype Cycle as a reference point, communications technology expert Neville Hobson and I discuss what’s predicted to hit the mainstream within the next two to three years. T...

In the final episode of Season Two of the Digital Download podcast, we take a look at some of the major themes to have emerged from the show during the last three months. MD of Carrot Communications and co-founder of Polpeo Kate Hartley and I discuss how, despite the podcast being primarily about how digital technology is impacting the communications industry, the outstanding message to come throu...

Hard rock band Halestorm won a Grammy Award in 2013 and is about to release its fourth album in nine years on Atlantic Records. Lead singer Lzzy Hale is one of the most popular and likeable frontwomen (or men) on social media, where she is pretty much ever-present on Twitter and Instagram. But does popularity pay? I caught up with Lzzy and guitarist Joe Hottinger (who, incidentally, are two of the...

The word ‘community’ is often misused by communications professionals, many of whom fail to grasp the fundamental nature of community and how to leverage it. But when deployed strategically, with a clear purpose and focus on the members not the administrator, online communities can provide huge business value. In this episode of the Digital Download podcast I talk to Gemma Went, a digi...

There’s a lot of corporate rubbish spoken in and around the PR industry. From over-elaborate brand statements and communications jargon to pseudo-propitious CSR initiatives. Companies and brands hide behind walls of carefully constructed marketing initiatives that present a polished veneer instead of what really goes on inside those organisations. But what if we remove that veneer? In this e...

B2B influencer marketing is a discipline that, far from being in its infancy, has not reached the maturity of the consumer sector. While the latter is plagued with Instagram and YouTube ‘stars’ who flog their supposed influence to the highest bidder, the B2B sector is relatively untouched. Many communications professionals are unsure of how to best utilise B2B influencers and of what t...

This episode of the Digital Download podcast was recorded live at Digital Download Live 2018. The event presented a challenging set of developments for the communications industry that necessitate ensuring you are up-to-speed with technological change, namely fake news, a potential crash in influencer marketing, the decline of content visibility and the threat of artificial intelligence. In today&...

Instagram is arguably the most creative of all of the social media channels, and yet so many brands, companies and marketers struggle with how to utilise it. While many corporate accounts are dull and predictable, there are individuals using Instagram to build their personal brands in highly creative ways, and it is from these examples that inspiration can be taken. In this episode of the Digital...