It is PR Measurement Month! This year, we speak renowned measurement leader and author Mark Weiner. Here’s a bit about Mark to set the scene:  His latest book PR Technology, Data and Insights was named one of the top three PR books for 2022. He is a member of the exclusive Arthur Page SocietyThe Institute for Public Relations  awarded him Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018He is a member of the PR News all of FameThis year our theme builds on the Public Relations Institute of Australia 2023...

In this episode I am joined by Dan Wilcock, Sustainability and Governance Manager for the UN Global Compact Network Australia. The UN Global Compact Network may be the biggest movement you haven't heard of.  A special initiative initially set up by then UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, it is a call to companies everywhere to align their operations and strategies with 10 universal principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption, and take action in support of...

In this episode of Smoke Signal, I am joined by Scott Brinker, a.k.a Chief Martech, author of the Marketing Technology Landscape Supergraphic.  Scott is in the envious position where is hobby and passion has become his career and vice versa.  First launched in 2011 with 150 tools, the latest 2023 version, released last month, featured an unbelievable 11,038 tools and technologies.  This exponential rise in Martech is mirrored in Commtech. “Everything that marketing does is now connected...

PR Futurist Stuart Bruce features in this episode of Smoke Signal Podcast, sharing his insight on how tech is impacting the practice of public relations. Regardless of what you call it - CommTech, CommsTech, PRTech, one thing is clear, technology is impacting the practice of public relations at an exponential rate. Whether it is to enhance, augment, make us more efficient, there seems to be an app, website or tool for every aspect of our role. The challenge we face though, as Stuart points...

It is only February and it almost feels like we can already call it – 2023 will be the year of AI. It has been impossible not to get caught up in the ChatGPT tsunami that has made headlines, swamped social media feeds and seemingly replaced the weather as the most popular piece of small talk before meetings. Not to add to the deluge, but rather to cut through the hype and the noise, in this episode I speak to UK based digital and data PR expert Andrew Bruce Smith. Andrew is Chair of the...

Most PR practitioners are used to managing issues. In fact, many thrive most when they are in the midst of a major crisis. But what about war? That is the situation that has faced Julia Petryk, Head of PR at MacPaw, since Russia invaded Ukraine at the start of 2022. MacPaw, is a software development company that has apps installed on one in every 5 Mac computers worldwide.  It has 30 million users and 500 staff with its headquarters being in Kyiv, Ukraine. “PR as a business function is so...

It is November so that means one thing – it is AMEC Measurement Month. In conjunction with The Public Relations Institute of Australia this episode features an in-depth discussion with measurement pioneer, Katie Paine. This year’s Measurement Month theme is Measure What Matters. Katie coincidentally wrote a book by that same title way back in 2011 and says what matters today as a communication professional is that you are making a difference to the bottom line in a way that senior...

In this episode of Smoke Signal I continue to take a deep dive into climate communications. I am joined by Belinda Noble, who is President and Founder of Comms Declare – an Australian coalition across the communication, marketing, media and advertising sectors united to drive positive climate action. “Comms Declare wants marcomms to be respected and trusted... We want people’s talents to be used to promote solutions that make the world a better place… Our end game is to make fossil fuels as...

In this episode we are tackling the climate crisis.  We are six months on from COP26, where the outcome didn’t match the hype. Australia’s State of the Environment report has just been released and generated world headlines for the grim picture it painted and the environmental challenges facing Australia. And we are seeing an energy crisis globally as we struggle to agree how to a transition to renewables. Against this backdrop we take a timely and much needed deep dive into the role of the...

July 16 is World PR Day  – a day dedicated to recognising and celebrating public relations and communication. Yes even PR needs PR. I am joined by one of the committee members responsible for organising World PR Day, Enitan Kehinde, for a Q&A on the initiative, the events and how practitioners can get involved. “PR is a very important practice across the world, across businesses and across governments, so it is time for us to prioritise PR…. Our goal is for practitioners across the world...

Shane Allison and I always enjoy a robust discussion and in this episode we dive into two areas that we are both passionate about – the role of professional industry associations and the uptake of CommTech across the PR sector. It is just over 100 days since Shane took on the role of President of the Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA) and he has certainly hit the ground running: rolling out a 2022 Member Program; unveiling a number of working groups to address key issues...

At its core public relations is reputation management. Building, protecting and repairing brand reputations is what we do. Research shows that organisations with better reputations outperform their peers, better attract and retain talent, inspire deeper loyalty and develop louder advocates. A brand’s reputation is built by both what it does and what is says – making communication a fundamental building block of reputation It is in that context that I picked up with interest the 2022 Global...

It has been the communication story that has dominated the past 12 months – getting Australians vaccinated. Last month, we marked one year since the COVID-19 vaccination roll out started in Australia. While our vaccination rates are now among the highest in the world, a successful roll out was not always so certain. One person who has been deeply engaged with this communication challenge is Darren Behar who is Managing Partner at one of Australia’s largest independent consultancies –...

PR and journalism have a long and deep symbiotic relationship. So in this first episode of Smoke Signal for 2022 I thought it timely to take a deep dive into the current state of journalism and predictions on how the media industry will continue to evolve in the year ahead.  The past two years has seen news media rise in importance and relevance as audiences turn to trusted sources for health and economic information. As we look forward to 2022 the question becomes what’s next? Senior...

The global pandemic has fundamentally reshaped the communication profession, with communications becoming more materially important to the C-suite than ever before. So, as we look ahead to 2022, what does this mean for the role of corporate communicators? Research from Edelman in the US looks at exactly this question. The report – The Future of Corporate Communications   – was based on a survey of over 200 Chief Communication Officers across the US. In this episode, I am joined by co-author...

In this episode I speak with Tom Watson who is both an academic, currently emeritus professor in the Faculty of Media & Communication at Bournemouth University in England, and an esteemed author, writing about measurement and evaluation of communications for the past 30 years, including being co-author of three editions of the seminal textbook Evaluating Public Relations. Tom takes us back to the origins of PR measurement and evaluation; way back in fact to the first President of the...

November is Global Measurement Month, and in association with the Public Relations Institute of Australia, this month Smoke Signal Podcast will feature a series of episodes with global leaders in PR measurement, all under the theme of “reimagining measurement and evaluation”. In the next episode of the series I am joined from London by Allison Spray who is H+K Strategies Global Head of Data + Analytics as well as an International Board Director for AMEC. Allison describes measurement and...

November is Global Measurement Month, and in association with the Public Relations Institute of Australia, this month Smoke Signal Podcast will feature a series of episodes with global leaders in PR measurement all under the theme of “reimagining measurement and evaluation in public relations”. This first episode of the series features Dr Glenn O’NeiI. Based in Geneva Switzerland, Glenn is founder of OWL RE, leading evaluation, research and communication projects for NGOs, UN agencies and...

A Public Relations Podcast: Smoke Signal - The impact of COVID-19 on PR and CommunicationAt the start of the global pandemic as the world was turned upside down I put a hold on this podcast.  So for the first episode back I thought it only right to look at how COVID-19 has impacted the world of PR and communications. Stephen Waddington says COVID-19 had an “immediate and dramatic effect on PR and communications”.  He authored a report for the UK Government Communication Service titled...

Measurement, Evaluation and Learning is how we should be reframing the discussion around metrics in public communication according Jim Macnamara, in a special Measurement Month episode of PR podcast Smoke Signal.

In the final episode of Smoke Signal for 2019 I share a summer reading list for PR practitioners, speaking to a number of practitioners turned authors who have recently – or will soon –become published authors.

This month, in partnership with the Public Relations Institute of Australia, we mark Global PR Measurement Month by speaking with adjunct professor, lecturer, researcher, presenter - Fraser Likely - from his hometown in Ottawa Canada. Having an industry level discussion to highlight the importance of measurement has never been more critical. According to a recent study into continuing professional development conducted by the Public Relations Institute of Australia, measurement and...

In the final episode of this special Smoke Signal series looking at mental health in the PR sector, Sophie Holland shares the latest research and insight coming out of the UK. Sophie heads up the mental health research team at UK-based insight agency Opinium. Having studied Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford, Sophie is dedicated to giving people greater understanding on the topic of mental health so we can more effectively take a preventative rather than a reactive approach....

Andy Wright is co-chair of the Mentally Healthy Change Group – founded by a group of leaders from across the creative,marketing and media sector with the aim to de-stigmatise mental health as a topic of discussion and help facilitate the conversation between leaders in the industry and employees. The Mentally Healthy Change Group evolved from a survey of over 1800 workers across the creative, media and marketing sectors – the biggest study ever done into mental health in the sector – which...