The PRovoke Media Podcast

This episode of the PRovoke Podcast features LaMisha Hill, PhD a licensed counseling psychologist and director of multicultural affairs for the office of diversity and outreach at the University of California San Francisco. Hill talks with Aarti Shah about the way organizations can build equitable and inclusive cultures. The conversation will also cover the implications of systematic racism and Co...

This episode of the PRovoke Podcast features Google's LaToya Drake, a founding member of the Google News Initiative (GNI) and a champion for inclusive storytelling. In a conversation with Aarti Shah, Drake talks about how GNI emerged at Google and how the effort elevates underrepresented voices in media. Drake also discusses diversity in technology and communications — and how brands and agencies...

George Coleman is co-CEO of Current Global, formed last year by the merger of two of Interpublic’s PR firms, US-based Current Marketing and Weber Shandwick unit Creation, which he founded. Coleman joins EMEA editor Maja Pawinska Sims on the PRovoke podcast to talk about how the PR industry can rise above unconscious bias and tribalism on social media, particularly in febrile political and social t...

In this episode of the PRovoke Podcast, Google's head of product inclusion Annie Jean-Baptiste talks about the movement she created three years ago inside Google to help underrepresented users feel seen throughout the product design process. In this conversation with Aarti Shah, she guides communications and PR professionals on how they can help the organizations they work with build more inclusiv...

Jessica Hope launched Wimbart in London in 2014, as an independent PR agency specialising in Africa and emerging markets, with a focus on the continent’s tech and start-up sectors. She joins Arun Sudhaman on the PRovoke podcast to discuss the firm's rise and its ability to serve as a 'safe space' for Black PR executives in a notoriously white industry.

Curtis Sparrer, principal of tech PR boutique Bospar, joins Diana Marszalek on the PRovoke podcast to discuss how having a virtual shop before the lockdown – plus the right mix of clients – has helped the agency continue to thrive during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Garland Stansell, chief communications officer of the Children’s Hospital of Alabama and the PRSA’s 2020 national chair, joins Diana Marszalek on the PRovoke Podcast to talk about how the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has mobilised communications within the public health sphere. 

In this episode of the PRovoke Media podcast, we speak to Reggie Dance, VP at Coyne PR, about the role corporate America can play in making “liberty and justice for all” a reality from Black Americans. The conversation followed a piece that Dance wrote " Dear Corporate America: Acknowledge, Listen and Take Action. " In this episode, he talks about the recommendations in that piece and how brands a...

As the PR industry looks for bolder ways to address its

As #BlackLivesMatter protests continue around the world, IPG's PR and marketing group diversity & inclusion leader Margenett Moore-Roberts and Rogers & Cowan PMK multicultural head Stephen Macias join Diana Marszalek on the PRovoke podcast to discuss systemic racism and how the communications industry can harness the energy around recent events to move towards racial equality.

OPR CEO Richard Brett joins the PRovoke podcast to discuss the agency's new book, which explores how marketing communications has moved from telling and talking to doing and action. That focus on action, says Brett, becomes even more critical in the Covid-19 era, with companies around the world stepping up and doing what they can to help. 

PRovoke editors Arun Sudhaman and Maja Pawinska Sims discuss Hong Kong's latest search for PR agency support, set against the backdrop of sustained political unrest in the city. The duo explore why MSL pulled out of the process, why so many firms have chosen to steer clear of the brief, and which firm might land the controversial assignment.

Prospect Resourcing founder/MD Emma Dale joins Arun Sudhaman on the PRovoke podcast to discuss the 2020 State of the Industry Report, conducted in conjunction with Public Affairs Asia. Dale examines the difficulties facing the Asia-Pacific PR industry amid Covid-19, the implications for mental health and flexible working, and broader trends that are impacting talent development, recruitment and re...

Jim Weiss has spent several decades working in healthcare PR, including starting his career in the HIV/AIDS space. Now as CEO of the healthcare powerhouse W2O Group, Weiss is leading his clients — which include 23 of the top 25 pharmaceutical companies in the world — through the Covid-19 crisis. Aarti Shah spoke with Weiss about the Covid-19 playbook (hint: there isn't one) and why acting local is...

Before the Covid-19 outbreak, the travel and tourism industry accounted for 10% of global GDP. Diana Marszalek is joined on the PRovoke podcast by Virginia Messina, managing director of the World Travel & Tourism Council, and Jennifer Risi, president of independent agency network The Sway Effect, to talk about various communications efforts that can keep the industry afloat when most travel is at...

Jamie McLaughlin, who has spent more than 15 years as a PR executive recruiter, joins Diana Marszalek on the PRovoke podcast to discuss the coronavirus outbreak’s effects on the industry job market, and how the pandemic could lead to long-term changes in the hiring process.

Schneider Electric corporate communications director Alex Malouf joins the PRovoke podcast from Dubai to discuss how companies can respond to the remarkable PR challenges posed by Covid-19, including employee engagement and internal communications priorities. 

Jeff Joseph, CEO of the Software & Information Industry Association, joins Diana Marszalek on the PRovoke podcast on the 35th anniversary of the annual CODiE Awards, to talk about how the Oscars of the software industry not only keep pace with the ever-changing world of technologt, but also have an impressive track record of recognizing industry legends before they become household names.

PRovoke's Next 20 series examines the future of crisis communications in Asia-Pacific, in conjunction with Ogilvy. The discussion features Scott Kronick, CEO for PR & influence at Ogilvy Asia-Pacific, along with Ogilvy Singapore executive director Michelle Ang and Ogilvy PR SVP Simon Webb — who join PRovoke's Arun Sudhaman to explore how crisis communicators are dealing with the unprecedented impa...

PRovoke editor Arun Sudhaman sits down with Asia-Pacific correspondent David Blecken, who recently authored a two-part series on the communications challenges facing corporates and governments from the coronavirus crisis. The duo discuss the balance of internal and external comms as workplaces, supply chains and earnings are significantly disrupted, while also exploring the misinformation and oppo...

Independent influencer marketing specialist Scott Guthrie joins the PRovoke Podcast to talk about a new report, We're All Influencers Now, which covers governance and best practice for communications professionals working with influencers from Instagram celebrity endorsement to B2B, and why the influencer ecosystem – or "word-of-mouth at scale" – has become so important to brands.

Tori Cowley is the group chief communications officer at Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx), and was also head of comms at the London Stock Exchange. She joins Arun Sudhaman on the PRovoke Podcast to talk about the challenges of stock exchange communications, and the reputation, brand, culture and values of the Hong Kong stock exchange and Hong Kong itself, including comms around the...

Public relations practitioner Colm Woods is only 28 but has already worked on corporate comms projects across Europe and the Middle East and written his first book on PR, Tailored Thinkers. He joins Maja Pawinska Sims on the PRovoke Podcast to talk about the book – which covers possible solutions to comms problems from areas as varied as military strategy, Greek philosophy and behavioural science...

Matt Peacock is a sustainable business expert and former group director of corporate affairs at Vodafone, and the newest partner at PR agency Blurred, which has pledged to only work with clients who are making progress towards the UN's global goals. Post-Davos, he joins Maja Pawinska Sims on the PRovoke Podcast to talk about the business and communications challenges of conscious capitalism and th...

This episode of the PRovoke Podcast features Ketchum's Melissa Kinch and Lisa Sullivan to talk about the emerging "Techruptor" demographic — considered to be young, digital native consumers who are at the same time the earliest adopters and also tech’s biggest critics. The conversation also explores a study that reveals consumers’ feelings on data privacy and cyber security — and the actions they...