trust me, pr is dead: welcome to the progressive corporate future

There is a lot of thinking right now about what the role of PR is in the future. In this guest post, one PR veteran explains why he has turned author to set out his ideas for the future as he re-thinks what the sector must look like. This may be uncomfortable reading for some.

by Robert Phillips 

My forthcoming book, “Trust Me, PR Is Dead” has attracted a lot of chatter in social media, since the first article appeared last summer. It charts the fall of Public Relations and the rise of Public Leadership: activist, co-produced, citizen-centric and society-first.

It calls for new measurement and accountability metrics, based on Public Value, which will be unique to every organisation that develops them.

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a virtual trip to #commscamp14

It's never possible to get to all of the events we'd like to. But sometimes you can get benefits from an event from the comfort of your own office or home.

by Emma Leigh

Before I go any further, I must make a confession, I was lucky enough to get a ticket to #CommsCamp14, hurrah I hear you say, so why the flip is this blog about a virtual trip to CommsCamp? Unfortunately, the day before I was unwell and unable to make the journey. Right up until 7.15am on Monday morning I was challenging myself to make the train, but, alas it wasn’t meant to be.

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#bestbywm survey: good, but we dare not stand still

We here are comms2point0 have worked with IEWM for a second year running to take a look at where local government is in the West Midlands with social media. In a survey that has lessons for all digital comms people a need to experiment and horizon scan has been identified. 

by Dan Slee 

No question we're really proud at comms2point0 of being involved for a second year with IEWM’s Best by West Midlands initiative.

From Herefordshire in the south to Stoke-on-Trent in the north the region and across the Brum and Black Country conurbation the region continues to blaze a trail for how the public sector best uses social media channels.

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music2point0 - your essential summer playlist

by Darren Caveney

So there I was sourcing insightful comms links on a Thursday evening, when I put out a tweet asking for a cool summer tune for our Friday song of the day. What resulted was, in no time at all, a crowd-sourced list of not one but 22 summer tunes. Some of them absolute belters.

I'm considering re-branding to music2point0 and I figured that this should be an essential summer playlist.

So here’s the list.

Enjoy.

Summer Fun by The Barracudas for @sarahlay

The Night by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons for @Cal444

Summer Breeze by The Isley Brothers for @Gemma_Finnegan

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i love porto

We're always keen to get different perspectives on comms, especially from overseas. So when one-man social media machine, Helder Goncalves offered us a post we jumped at the chance.

by Helder Goncalves

“I Love Porto" is a Facebook page established in February 2012 with the intention of showing the beauty of living in a city as historic but at the same time as contemporary as Porto. The aim was to raise citizens' love for the city we lived in, sharing photographs of some of the most beautiful and iconic locations, such as the amazing Douro River.

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to strike or not strike? a comms dilemma

A strike is likely to take place on July 10 in local government and comms people will have some hard thinking to do. In this post one professional thinks aloud over the difficult choice they face.

by A Local Government Comms Person

Sitting at the heart of a local authority within a corporate comms team often brings about conflict between the decisions and policies of the organisation and your personal views. However, it is the job of the professional to separate the two, and to present the organisation in the best possible light, enhancing, preserving or defending its reputation. 

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your digital journey starts here...

Email is the cinderalla platform in the digital landscape. Not always the poster hero but when used correctly can be hugely effective, says Govdelivery.

by Dave Worsell

Every journey starts somewhere.  The easier the first step the faster it becomes to reach the destination.

Here at GovDelivery we know we aren’t the final destination and we definitely aren’t one of the many distractions along the way.  However, we are one of the more effective starting points who help guide and nudge people along the path towards digital government.

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barbie has joined linkedin... shouldn't you? shouldn't your daughter?

The size and reach of LinkedIn has reached a tipping point with Barbie now joining. Is this a positive message to girls? And to all of us? 

by Karen Steel

Barbie has joined LinkedIn. That’s right. The pneumatic blonde (or sometimes brunette) with the unlikely proportions has her own showcase page under the Mattel company account which details her 55-year career encompassing more than 150 jobs (currently she describes herself as ‘entrepreneur’ and the role is said to be inspired by Sheryl Sandberg).

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up for the cup: posts of the month double roll-over

It's a double roll-over post-of-the-month this week as we look at the popular posts for May and June.

by Dan Slee

Forget the World Cup... the trophy they all want to lift if the miniature plastic number that goes with the coveted title of post-of-the-month. The most read post on comms2point0.

This month it's a double award winner as looking back we just plain forgot to award the prize in public at the end of May.

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why I love local government comms

Over the past few weeks and months, there has been an emerging trend in local government communications – this trend has seen a number of really, really good people leave the sector and go onto other very impressive things...

by GUEST EDITOR Emma Rodgers

Now that has probably been a brilliant thing for those people individually but it got me thinking. What do we do when all the good people are gone? How do we attract new talent into local government communications at one of the most challenging times in it’s history? I’m not sure yet of the answer and it would be arrogant of me to think that I could come up with that solution alone. What I did decide though is that I would write down my top five reasons why I believe local government communications is a good place to be and here’s that list. I’m hoping it will spark some views and debate.

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#HousingDay 12.11.14

Taking a leaf out of brands using ‘real life’ human stories, it’s time housing collectively hits back with some of its own...

Smashing perceptions - hitting back with real life stories

by Adrian Capon

Tackling negative stereotypes and perceptions is complex and long-term. Recent TV portrayal has seen stigma entrenched for people living in social and council housing. With so much media popularity focussed on this - what about creating a programme hearing from people who do amazing work?

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be the best - and prove it

It’s good to take time out to reflect, assess where you’re going and what you need to do next. LGcomms academy was the perfect opportunity for this – and what a treat it was.

by Kate Walker

Disclaimer: Much of the below is borrowed from the brilliant speakers and comms people I met in Manchester – with a personal slant.

As local gov communicators we’ve got a tough job battling conflicting messages promoting our location as THE place to live, work and play against the onslaught of messages around cuts and changes to services. Gloomy? Don’t be. Challenged, excited? Yes, you should be.

Attending #ComsAcad last week for the first time I left full of energy, affirmation and inspiration; as communicators we’re on the right track, we’ve just got to do more of the good stuff and prove to the world what we’re made of.

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the future of comms could be a labcoat, tea and cake

We know the lanscape is changing. But in a few years time what will it look like? There are no definitive answers but some clues are starting to emerge.

by Dan Slee

What should the future of comms look like? It should be someone in a lab coat with a cup of tea and a slice of cake. Simple.

Why a lab coat? So you can get a bit scientific with data to understand a bit more about your task in hand.

Why a cup of tea and a slice of cake? Because you need to be human.

Put those two things together and it feels as though you stand a chance.

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step back and look at the view

We're all so busy racing around trying to get good at the latest 'next big thing' that sometimes we forget to take a step back...

by GUEST EDITOR Nic Davies Uley

Working in communications, reading about communications, communicating about communications, it can all get a bit too much. If working for myself has taught me one thing, it’s to step back and look at the view.

But you can’t look at the view, unless you take the step back.

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don't worry about dumbing down, worry about dumbing up

Do we need to apologise for making things jargon-free and easy to understand...? One comms professional has just drawn a line in the sand.

by Jon Matthias

I’ve decided I’m not going to apologise any more for ‘dumbing down’. And I’m going to be less tolerant when people start ‘dumbing up’.

We have two challenges as communicators - to both be heard and be understood. Simplicity is the key to people understanding what we say. Clarity and brevity are our friends.

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