Beyond the Noise - the PRWeek podcast

A special edition of PRWeek UK's Beyond the Noise podcast looks at the general election and what it means for the communications industry.Beyond the Noise, which is published on alternate weeks, looks at some of the biggest issues affecting comms and PR. Download the podcast via Apple, Spotify, or listen in the browser above or on your favourite platform.This week's episode, recorded on Friday shortly after Keir Starmer was confirmed as the UK next Prime Minister, features PRWeek editor-in-chief Danny Rogers, UK editor John Harrington and senior reporter Evie Barrett.The trio analyse the election campaigns and discuss which parties and individuals got their strategies right and which faltered.They also look ahead to what a Labour government might mean for the comms industry.Click here to read about what PR professionals think will happen under the Starmer administration.

A special edition of PRWeek's Beyond the Noise podcast, recorded live at the Crisis Communications Summit last week, looks at how Premiership Rugby has been overcoming its recent crises.The session features Jonny Fordham, head of communications at Premiership Rugby, speaking to Lee Cain, the founder of Charlesbye and a former comms director at Downing Street.Beyond the Noise, which is published on alternate weeks, looks at some of the biggest issues affecting comms and PR. Download the podcast via Apple, Spotify, or listen in the browser above or on your favourite platform.Fordham discussed how he and his colleagues coped with recent crises at the league, not least the administration of three clubs last year, alongside reports of racism in rugby, and some players leaving for a rival league in France.The head of comms spoke about how Premiership Rugby "flipped the narrative" to "talk about the rebuild" of the league.The importance of speaking with your critics and of countering misinformation were emphasised. And Fordham offered advice to anyone facing similar crises.He added: "The more open and honest you were the better our coverage started to become."

The latest episode of the Beyond the Noise podcast looks at some of the lessons from PRWeek's Crisis Communications Conference.Recorded on Thursday immediately after the conference in London, this week's edition features UK editor John Harrington, news editor Siobhan Holt and senior reporter Evie Barrett.Beyond the Noise, which is published on alternate weeks, looks at some of the biggest issues affecting comms and PR. Download the podcast via Apple, Spotify, or listen on your favourite platform.The trio discuss how social media fuels so many crisis communications incidents these days, and debate whether it's right for organisations to even come off X (formerly Twitter) entirely.They talk about how communications professionals should approach journalists who seem to be 'amplifying trolls' by basing stories on a few negative comments on social channels.The journalists look at how AI is being used in crisis comms plans, and the importance of having good relationships with the media in the age of AI-generated mis/disinformation.The need to look after comms staff when a crisis hits, including ensuring the team is well resourced, is also discussed. So to is the question of how to respond after a crisis subsides.And we ask: why are so many crisis comms experts former journalists?

Why did Burson launch earlier than expected? That’s the focus of PRWeek’s latest Noise in Brief podcast.Noise in Brief – a shorter offshoot of PRWeek’s Beyond the Noise podcast – is released fortnightly and features PRWeek UK journalists discussing major issues from the previous seven days or so.Download the podcast via Apple, Spotify, or listen in the browser on your favourite platform.This week’s edition is hosted by PRWeek UK news editor Siobhan Holt and features UK editor John Harrington alongside reporter Evie Barrett.The team speak live to PRWeek editor-in-chief Danny Rogers, currently attending the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity on the French Riviera, to find out more about this year’s Festival, the Cannes Lions PR winners, and what presentations have stood out to him this year.The bombshell news that Burson – the agency created from the merger of BCW and Hill & Knowlton, which is due to be formally completed on 1 July – has launched ahead of schedule is also analysed, alongside other elements such as its corporate comms approach and what it means for the industry.And the journalists take a closer look at this year’s 30 Under 30 cohort to find out what key issues are important to PR’s future leaders and discuss what the pros would change about the industry.

PRWeek's latest podcast hears from two jurors on the Cannes Lions PR category about what to expect from the 2024 International Festival of Creativity.Our guests on this week's Beyond the Noise are Kat Thomas, founder and chief creative officer at One Green Bean and this year’s PR Lions jury president; and Fenella Grey, another juror and former EMEA MD and chair, now senior advisor, at Porter Novelli.Beyond the Noise, which is published on alternate weeks, looks at some of the biggest issues affecting comms and PR. Download the podcast via Apple, Spotify, or on your favourite platform.As the industry prepares to make its annual jaunt to the French Riviera, PRWeek journalists Siobhan Holt and John Harrington quiz our guests on some of the big talking points at Cannes in 2024.They examine whether 'purpose' work will be prevalent this year after a dip in the number of purpose-led campaigns in 2023, and discuss how the genre is evolving.The duo give their take on the likely success - or otherwise - of PR agencies in the PR Lions category. They also talk about the new and revised Cannes categories for 2024.And they answer the question: will AI-led campaigns be a big hit this year?Thomas and Grey also offer insights into the Cannes Lions judging process - including the number of entries jurors have to sift through.Cannes Lions takes place from 17 to 21 June. Stay tuned to PRWeek for all the news and insights from the festival.

What are the big lessons for the comms industry from the 2024 general election campaign so far? That's the focus of PRWeek's latest Noise in Brief podcast.Noise in Brief – a shorter offshoot of PRWeek’s Beyond the Noise podcast – is released fortnightly and features PRWeek UK journalists discussing major issues from the previous seven days or so.Download the podcast via Apple, Spotify or on your favourite platform.This week’s edition is hosted by PRWeek UK news editor Siobhan Holt and features UK editor John Harrington alongside reporters Evie Barrett and Elizabeth Wiredu.The team look at the wider lessons for the industry from a campaign that in recent days has been dominated by the debate between Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer, and in particular the Conservative leader's disputed claim that Labour will add £2,000 to household bills.The bombshell news that Nigel Farage has taken over as leader of Reform UK and is contesting a seat is also analysed, alongside other elements of the campaigns, including the use of TikTok and other social channels.And the quartet ask: can election 'stunts' - like those used by the Liberal Democrats and their leader Sir Ed Davey - ever really work?

Salaries and bonuses are the focus of the latest episode of PRWeek UK’s Beyond the Noise podcast.In this episode of Beyond the Noise, Sarah Leembruggen, managing director of recruitment consultancy The Works Search, speaks to PRWeek EMEA editor-in-chief Danny Rogers and PRWeek UK’s news editor, Siobhan Holt, about the communications jobs market. Beyond the Noise, which is published on alternate weeks, looks at some of the biggest issues affecting comms and PR. Download the podcast via Apple, Spotify, or listen on your favourite platform.In this podcast, Leembruggen shares her advice on hiring, pay and bonuses, redundancy, staff benefits and how to retain staff members. This week’s podcast coincides with the release of The Works Search’s annual Salary Guide, which polled more than 400 corporate comms professionals to find out the latest job market trends. Further details from this report will be published online, visit prweek.com/uk to read more.

Tesco’s 10-year reputational turnaround is the focus of the latest PRWeek podcast, which was recorded live at the PR360 conference.This special edition of Beyond the Noise features Tesco group comms director Christine Heffernan speaking to Danny Rogers, EMEA editor-in-chief of PRWeek, in a session at the PR360 conference in Brighton earlier this month.Beyond the Noise, which is published on alternate weeks, looks at some of the biggest issues affecting comms and PR. Download the podcast via Apple, Spotify, or listen on your favourite platform.In this podcast, Heffernan discusses how reputation was “front and centre” of the turnaround programme at the supermarket giant in the aftermath of the accounting scandal in 2014.The role of internal communications was central to the turnaround. Heffernan talks about the listening programme Tesco undertook with its 300,000-strong employee base; how the group tracks staff sentiment; and how it communicates internally via its ‘news and views’ internal comms platform.Heffernan provides details of Tesco’s new values and how these manifest themselves in practice, including Stronger Starts, its £5m grants programme for community initiatives in partnership with Groundwork UK.She also gives her views of purpose marketing and how purpose is now “business as usual” for Tesco.