✅ Monday briefing: Podcast pitching, PR measurement, digital exclusion, levelling up public relations, power cuts, PRSA Atlas award, comms women network, lobbying scandal, and more...
Wadds Inc. Better Business Outcomes podcast launches
This newsletter is crowdsourced each week from our blog and community of practice for people studying and working in marketing, media and PR. It’s a hive mind, newsroom and source of information, help and support. You’d be welcome to join us.
We launched the Wadds Inc. Better Business Outcomes podcast on Wednesday. Each week Sarah Waddington CBE and I speak to leaders about the role of public relations in organisational success.
In the first episode Sarah Waddington CBE and Institute of Directors’ Director General Jon Geldart talk about the role of directors, decision making and planning. This week I catch up with Dr Stephanie Hare, author of Technology is not Neutral, about geo-political and tech risk.
Please don’t forget to subscribe for free wherever you usually find your podcasts.
Media
🎤 PODCAST PITCHING: Podcasts are an underserved opportunity to pitch guests. There is a market of 2.4 million and more than 80% feature guests according to Muck Rack. Listen to an episode before you pitch and personalise approaches. Spotted Andrew Bruce Smith.
🤔 THE KNOWLEDGE: A free daily newsletter created by The Week’s Jon Connell shares a summary of the best of the day's online news media. It is published around 10am each day. Spotted Stephen Waddington.
Research and Insight
📈 PR MEASUREMENT: Muck Rack's State of PR Measurement Survey reports that two-thirds of practitioners fail to connect PR metrics with business outcomes. Two in five report that it is hard to measure results accurately. Richard Bagnall remains frustrated. Spotted Andrew Bruce Smith.
🙅 DIGITAL EXCLUSION: Smartphones are creating a digital underclass who find it impossible to bank, access a doctor, or pay for parking. Age UK estimates that 40% of the over-75s don’t use the internet at all and are struggling to access basic services as a result. Spotted Esther Black.
🟰 LEVELLING UP PUBLIC RELATIONS: A new CIPR survey aims to explore the barriers to working class people entering the public relations profession. The industry has a shortfall of 250,000 practitioners according to Creative Industries Policy & Evidence Centre data. Source Stuart Baird and Liz Bridgen.
Industry
💡 POWER CUTS: A UK public information campaign to encourage people to cut their energy bills is set to get the government go-ahead. This public information campaign will encourage people to use less energy at a time when the government is paying to cap energy prices. Spotted Stephen Waddington.
🏆 PRSA ATLAS AWARD: Congratulations to Jean Valin, a lifelong advocate for professionalising public relations, on receipt of the PRSA Atlas Award. “Ours is an exciting and vibrant profession, it matches, mirrors, and sometimes drives the pace and direction of societal change,” he said. Source Elizabeth Hirst.
♀️ COMMS WOMEN NETWORK: A new grassroots network aims to bring together researchers and practitioners in advertising, public relations and media. Its goal is to promote the contribution of women in research in driving forward practice. Source Dr Martina Topić.
Best and Bad Practice
😦 AD FURY: High end fashion brand Balenciaga apologised after running a series of ads featuring children and overt sexual references. The backlash resulted in a blame game between the brand and creatives that amplified the issue. Spotted Stephanie Conway.
🥼 COMMS CONFLICT: H+K has been called out by climate scientists for its work for both the COP27 Conference and the fossil fuel industry. The agency represents the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), an international industry-led organisation which includes 12 member companies from the oil and gas industry. Spotted Stephen Waddington.
LOBBYING SCANDAL: Lady Michelle Mone and her family received £29m after lobbying for PPE Medpro to secure a government contract to supply PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Conservative Peer helped the startup gain preferential access and secure contracts worth more than £200m. Spotted Andy Barr, Jon Gerlis, and Sarah Waddington CBE.
Tools
⚠️ FLAWED TOOL DATA: Analysis of third-party traffic estimate data from SEMRush, Datos, SimilarWeb, and Ahref with Google Analytics found a plus or minus 30% mismatch. Build this tolerance into your attribution and measurement models. Spotted Andrew Bruce Smith.
📮 POST SCRIPT: Dissonance related to the World Cup, strikes, Scottish devolution, and the lack of a UK growth strategy are all issues highlighted in the Wadds Inc. Strategic Planning tool (opens as PDF) that came to the fore last week. If you need help with planning for 2023 and beyond, please get in touch. Source Stephen Waddington.