Pr Resolution Podcast

At the time of publish, we are 3 weeks away from the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar. Normally at this stage we’re at the height of World Cup hype, fans are excited about team selections, journalists are reporting from training camps and tabloids are on WAG watch. This year is very different. Nearly all lead-up stories have been negative; covering the human rights issues, corruption, timing and infrastructure problems. So what does this mean to the huge World Cup audience? How does this affect the associated brand sponsors? Are there the same news-jacking opportunities for non-official partners? I interview one the world’s leading experts in sports marketing and brand partnerships; Andy Sutherden to find out. The former head of International Brand Consulting at CAA (Creative artists agency) and ex global head of sport partnerships and marketing at H&K Strategies, helps us navigate the change in comms strategy, reputation, activation and measurement of one of the most controversial worlds cups in history. Our in

Stella Bayles interviews Dan Flanagan, founder of the growing community interest group 'Dad La Soul'. From humble beginnings of group of 14 dads getting together for a play date with their kids, ‘Dad La Soul’ is now a globally recognised Community Interest company that connects over 2.5k dads through art, tech and music events & in turn helps them beat loneliness, and live happy lives. Dad La Soul attributes a lot of its growth and success down to PR, and specifically their PR & social impact report that has become popular among funders, partner stakeholders and volunteers. In this podcast interview Dan shares; - How PR has helped build their network, attract new funding and sign up volunteers - Why Dad La Soul was recently namechecked in parliament - How proving social change from PR coverage for non profits and charities is essential - How a PR report can be adapted into a heavy-hitting social impact report This podcast is essential-listening for anyone working in-house at agencies specialising in charit

In this episode I interview Donna Loughlin, she is the founder & owner of PR firm LMGPR and host of podcast ‘Before It Happened.  Having started journalism at just 10 years old; helping at a local newspaper network that her family managed, Donna progressed & became a global journalist for Reuters and the BBC. It was when she was reporting in the Valley during the .com boom that Donna swapped sides to PR and started to stories on behalf of tech start ups. Her experience of launching new tech to market, building founders and business reputation and eventually then taking them out through their initial public offering (IPO) gained the attention of the whole industry.. At her busiest she did 5 IPOs back to back in a, in a six year period… You can see why Donna is on the wish list of most venture capitalists launch plans! As well as perfecting launch strategies, over the years Donna met and worked with some of the world’s greatest innovators which led her to her to create her podcast ‘before it happened’ where

This episode explores the business success that occurs when two areas of marketing combine and work together really well. I interview Grace Keeling and James Beverage, co-founders of Made by Giants. Launching a B2B communications agency at the beginning of a pandemic may sound may sound like a tall order but for Made by Giants, it couldn’t of gone better. I find out how remote working restrictions and influences from James’ brand experience led to a very unique ‘investigative’ approach to insight and creative. Their indepth research and planning has resulted in comms strategies that are driving sales and growing their partners (not clients!) businesses. Whether you’re in B2B or B2C, there are ideation and hybrid-working lessons here for everyone. Special Guests: Grace Keeling and James Beveridge.

The day this podcast publishes (Tuesday 16th November 2021) CoverageBook 2 will launch. So, in this episode I catch up with the original founder of our PR tech; Gary Preston to share the details with our listeners first! We start with our journey; our agency pasts, and the measurement and reporting experiences that led to the birth of CoverageBook. Gary shares his aims for the second version of the platform; making every PR practitioner ‘an accidental analyst’ and how he hopes confidence in measurement will return with credible metrics and simple reports. He talks about industry measurement as a whole and compares to his experience in digital marketing. And why some PR software claims of attribution and artificial intelligence is having a negative effect on measurement learning and development. Yet with the right confidence, he believes by 2023 digital marketing teams will be coming to PR to learn how to showcase and measure their work in a credible way…. Listen now to find out more ;) Special Guest: Gary P

In this episode I interview Brian Wallace Founder of NowSourcing, the top rated infographic agency in the United States. If you thought using infographics in PR activation had its day, think again. Brian and his team recently helped a NBA player secure a $64million deal by reshaping the way the US media thought about him, all through data visualisation. It doesn't end there; Now Sourcing only use infographics to secure coverage for their clients on the biggest US news sites every week and they drive awareness, SEO impact and big organisational impact. I ask Brian to share their secrets; how they win the attention of journalists, how they secure links and what metrics they use in reports that keep client stakeholders wanting more. I also find out where Brian believes visual comms is going and if PR and SEO still has some relationship building to do... Special Guest: Brian Wallace.

Media readership and influence is one of the most important elements of PR planning, but who is responsible for growing that influence? In this episode I interview Effie Kanyua, the Director of PR & Comms at publisher 'Hearst UK' which includes Harper’s Bazaar, ELLE, Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan, Men’s Health and Women’s health, media titles many of us sell-in to! I ask Effie about her journey from agency consumer comms to her in-house role at one of the world's largest publishers and the flip of objectives in helping to grow media, rather than target it. We discuss; * How media consumption has changed in the last year * How Hearst media titles have had to adapt & change business objectives * What it means to drive readership to media * The importance of internal comms right now * And how the Hearst UK PR team measures multi-media PR for a diverse set of stakeholders Effie’s honesty and insight is fascinating. Whether you work agency or in-house this episode is for you. As always, let me know what you thi

In this episode I interview Anthony Hayes, founder of the Hayes Initiative, based in NYC. We discuss his experience of upholding ethics in public affairs PR, where responsibility lies in mis-information in the media and why following your heart in communications is so important. Hayes Initiative, a certified LGBTQ-owned and operated public affairs firm, was recently recognized with an honorable mention at the 2021 PRWeek Awards for “Best in Public Affairs”. This was for their work with Time's Up, a charity that supports victims of sexual harassment, and specifically those involved in the Harvey Weinstein case. Anthony has worked with charities, presidential candidates, members of the U.S. Cabinet, governors, elected officials, law enforcement officials, and high-ranking health and legal professionals… It’s safe to say he has experience in high-pressure and controversial comms. Anthony shares how PR professionals can bring crisis techniques into every strategy and how to ensure we, as an industry, are not kno

Understanding how people interact with news and media sites is essential in PR planning and measurement. It has been an on-going challenge in Public Relations to understand the true volume of people arriving on news sites due to publishers' secrecy on traffic figures. There was further focus on this topic recently, when UK news site, The Guardian reported that The Telegraph online is planning to link journalists’ pay to traffic and popularity of their articles. So, in this episode, I interview digital communications consultant Andrew Smith on his research into publisher traffic. We discuss: -How readers arrive at news stories -Where the traffic comes from and how they interact on-site -Publisher traffic growth strategies -How the ‘pay for views’ model could work and the problems that could come with this -Traffic and data tools available to journalists and PR people No matter what country or industry you practise PR in, this episode is relevant to you all. Special Guest: Andrew Smith .

Understanding your audience is the most important stage in developing PR strategy. It’s impossible to influence and change opinion without a full understanding of who you are talking to and how they feel. And with more data available than ever before, where on earth do you begin that kind of research? Step forward Alex Judd, Alex is the head of Impact and Planning at Clarity PR. Alex is passionate about combining the art of communications with the science of research and data. In this episode we discuss: The difference between researching B2B and B2C audiences What we can learn from advertising audience segmentation How avoid looking for insight in an echo chamber How to get buy in from stakeholders How to get started in you’re an audience insight beginner Special Guest: Alex Judd .

In this episode Stella interviews Brendon Craigie, the co-founder and managing partner of Tyto. A global PR agency that uniquely has a team working across multiple communications disciplines and international borders, without physical offices. Brendon shares his experience in setting up and running a completely remote global PR agency, not because of lockdown restrictions but because their ‘PR without borders’ strategy truly engages local markets and delivers the best possible results for clients.  As we start 2021 with most PR agencies around the world working with pandemic-led restrictions, Craigie shares Tyto’s challenges but also huge successes in serving their global clients with a team of professionals located in 12 countries.  From team practicalities to VR client meetings, this may just be the PR agency structure of the future. Stella and Brendon discuss: * The deeper audience understaning of always leading comms on the ground of the location you're targeting * The danger of communications existing i

In this episode Stella interviews Sarah Waddington, founder and curator of the FuturePRoof book series and discusses the latest edition, 'celebrating BME talent'. Stella and Sarah explore representation in Public Relations, from an inclusivity perspective on the communicators side but also our responsibility in truly understanding, connecting and relating to the public. As well as curating the FuturePRoof books, Sarah Waddington is managing director of Astute communications, an agency in the north of England. Sarah also led the CIPR's gender policy for many years, improved social mobility within the UK PR industry and is now on the advisory board of The Blueprint, which is part of BME PR Pro mentoring scheme. The discussion explores: - Diversity and representation in Public Relations - How organisations can attract, retain and nurture diverse talent - How PR can truly connect and relate to the public - Ethics in communications & how much responsibility lies with practitioners vs. media and social platforms

The second episode in our ‘public feeling’ mini-series, Stella Bayles interviews crisis communications expert, Amanda Coleman, on why understanding ‘how the public is feeling during a time of crisis’ is paramount to PR strategy. With 20 years' experience working in emergency services communication, Amanda Coleman is the former Head of Corporate Communications for Greater Manchester Police. During that time, Amanda managed the public communications during significant crises including the Manchester Arena terrorist attack in 2017 and riots in 2011. Public feeling insights were key to build the stages of communication. In this episode Stella and Amanda discuss; Why exploring risk is the best crisis preparation Understanding how your communication is landing with the public during a crisis and post, in recovery Who should be responsible for crisis communications Crisis comms is now arguably the most important area of PR in 2020. Whether you have your plan in place or just beginning to explore, Amanda’s advice

With huge adjustments in how we live and global events reaching us in real-time, there is constant change in public feeling. Whether it’s uncertainty, mistrust, frustration or comradery, understanding the way we, the public are feeling has never been so important in Public Relations. In this episode I speak to Stephen Waddington. Wadds is an advisor and consultant on communications, he has led the CIPR and authored multiple PR books including #BrandVandals, ShareThis and Brand Anarchy. He has spent over 25 years understanding the public and the most effective way organisations should understand and interact with audiences, build trust and grow by improving techniques and technologies. Wadds and I discuss: - How PR has understood target audience - How to understand the public, and not just the media that influences them - How it is possible to track public feeling - Where surveys, social and search listening fits into this This is the first podcast in a series I’ll be running on public feeling insight. Get

'Share of voice' is a term used to describe how a brand is being talked about against it’s competitors. Share of voice is worked out very differently in Public Relations in comparision to other areas of marketing. This is mainly down to earned, owned and paid media all having different data and what we're allowed access to. At the end September 2020, Mark Ritson wrote an article for Marketing Week, which pitched why 'share of search' could be a better alternative measure of how popular a brand is among consumers. When I read the article, it struck me as a more sensible integrated way of looking at marketing success. However, I needed the help an expert to learn more! In this episode I interview marketing attribution expert, Russell McAthy, founder of Ringside to help us learn more. We explore: - What 'share of search' is - How it considers consumer view over the brand marketing teams! - How all of the marketing activity affects it - How PR teams can explore it If you do PR for a brand that also has lots

Public Relations professionals excel in storytelling. PR has also been known not to use data as well as other areas of marketing. So when I came across the wisdom of Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic, the founder & CEO of storytelling with data, I had to interview her on the PR Resolution Podcast. Cole is the author of the best-selling book, ‘storytelling with data: a data visualization guide for business professionals’ and, through her courses has helped thousands of people around the world tell better stories with their data, but what does she think about PR data? In one of my favourite interviews to date, Cole and I explore; If naturally right-brain people can tell great data stories We cover the Barcelona Principles 3.0 updates & how it’s possible to communicate outputs & outcomes visually Why getting to know your report readers is SO important And why starting with data is actually the wrong place to begin your measurement journey.. Special Guest: Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic.

The PR industry has had to adapt to a huge change recently. Not only have many comms strategies had to change, we've never had a news agenda like this. In this episode I'm joined by news experts from 72Point, part of SWNS Media Group which is an independent press agency working directly with major news-desks in the United States and the UK. I interview Daniel Johnson-Kim and Rick Maughan, Heads of Editorial and Media Liaison at 72Point Inc, New York, to discuss the changes at the major news-desks and how to sensitively navigate them. Together, Daniel and Rick have more than 20 years experience in working with news desks in both the UK and USA. As well as Daniel being an ex journalist, designer and editor at The New York Daily News and News Corp, he and Rick now work alongside journalists and PR teams to help shape brand comms into news. We cover: How journalists are working during lock-down How to be a resource (not a nuisance) How to adapt sell-in tactics Tips on how to navigate news-desks Special Guests:

Since the world went into lockdown, millions have turned to Amazon. The online retailer is due to release sales and profit figures on 30 April, however analysts have already forecast a sales increase of at least 22%. It’s been predicted that during the pandemic Amazon has experienced sales of $10,000 every second, day and night!! wow. Just before the pandemic was announced, I met Jim Hawker, co-founder of agency PR & marketing agency, Threepipe to find out about a new growth area for them; Amazon optimisation. It’s not a common skill-hire or PR service we talk about in the industry so I was keen to hear more. In this podcast interview Jim explains why Threepipe built a whole department just to focus on Amazon activity for their clients - How their PR tactics adapt in an Amazon strategy - Why Amazon is the new Google for FMCG brands - Where brand reputation comes into play in a new way - Why being bold IN TRYING new techniques doesn’t just build your clients business it can build an agency too This podc

It's 2020, integrated marketing is the norm, but could we be delivering better campaigns if we understood paid media better? In this episode I interview Shanna Apitz, the Executive Creative Director and head of innovation at Hunt Adkins, a paid media specialist agency in Minnesota. Having developed her career in the paid media space, Shanna has helped hundreds of US brands grow their business through interactive and integrated campaigns. I wanted to find out how a leading paid agency approach earned media, where Shanna thinks paid and PR fit in the marketing mix, how the two specialisms should work together, and how powerful an integrated campaign can be for a business. Special Guest: Shanna Apitz.

In this episode I step out of Public Relations and interview an expert in marketing measurement; Russell McAthy. Russell has been helping businesses attribute success (often revenue) to various lines of marketing for years. Without his insight into customer behaviour, millions in marketing budgets are likely to have been misspent. The term 'attribution' has come up a lot recently in PR recently so, I wanted to get back to basics. Russell and I cover what 'attribution' means, how PR fits into overall marketing evaluation and how you can talk about it to your stakeholders. Russell also tells me about how an update to cookie data happening in February 2020, that is going to make a MASSIVE difference to PR and paid, and we all need to know about it! Get ready to learn. Special Guest: Russell McAthy.