5 August 2024

Another noisy week, recapped from the world's largest WhatsApp community of PR and comms people. Typos happen, but we'll all be ok.

Big topic: I'm not weird, you are

Another political week from the US ...Democrats have a new way to frame MAGA Republican ideas and candidates: weird.

Some in the chat don't like it.

• Catherine Arrow : "I’m struggling with the whole ‘weird’ thing. I understand why it’s in play but it also serves to trivialise and lighten the awful, harmful language and behaviours that we are seeing. The way Trump spoke at the [NABJ] conference was appalling and ‘weird’ gives evil an escape route."
• Traci Coulter : "It might be why I am not a political strategist, but it’s petty and I don't like it. I don’t think we need convincing that he is mentally unstable and dangerous, but this seems to be making them spin out just hearing that one word with an eye roll."
• Armand David : "On the Kamala Harris campaign - this from Ian Leslie is a very interesting breakdown on the issue of weird. Recommend it....As a weird kid myself. Don't like that anyone exercises weird as judgement."

Some think it may work.

• Anthony Madigan : "Unlike all [the] other options, ‘weird’ is not an overt attack. It’s an almost neutral observation that can be seen as good or bad and so has more traction. Crucially for undecideds, I reckon it’s a reason to not vote Trump."
• Kat: "What makes it different from the other things like liar, grifter etc. is that it also gives an audience something to identify themselves with, in opposition: normal, with common sense on their side. That’s powerful."
• Elie Jacobs : "It reframes the argument away from the “threat to democracy” which is just too theoretical for most people to something very relatable. The same way Biden being ancient was relatable in a way trump is a threat was not. Shared link.
• And from me: a narrative advantage, and countering hyper-normalization.

And also:

• The meltdown. None of us thought it was a good idea, from the perspective of a campaign that presumably wants to use set-piece appearances and precious time to attract voters, for Trump to appear before the National Association of Black Journalists. And it was not.
• English violence. For the large UK contingent in the chats, news closer to home dominated the discussion, particularly an ongoing spasm of far-right riots across multiple English cities.
• Nike's error: "Nike invested a material amount of dollars (billions) into something that was less effective but easier to be measured vs something that was more effective but less easy to be measured. In conclusion: an impressive waste of money." A tweet from Gregory Kennedy shared by Nigel Sarbutts struck a chord.
• Prisoner swap. Some of us thought it was a dangerous precedent; others, a pragmatic move.
• Switch off. Do PR people have the right to tune out? Maybe.
• Asian Communications Network. Brand new! A new initiative from Advita Patel Farzana Baduel and Shayoni Lynn FCIPR FPRCA to energise, empower, and elevate Asian professionals in the PR and communications industries. More information here.

The Chats

Subgroups include Artificial Intelligence, Biocomms, Capital Markets, Creative Displays of Brilliance, Crisis & Issues, Digital & Tech, Education & Research, ESG & Sustainability, General Discussion, In-House, Mis/Disinformation, Neurodiversity, Politics & Policy, The Job Board, The Library, and Ukraine News. You can join any or all of them - just ask for a link.

Below are just a few highlights selected by me ...

Artificial Intelligence

Busiest chat in the community, led by Andrew Bruce Smith . Suitable for all audiences but leans a little toward the expert end of things, so please give him a follow if you like the deep-dive stuff. Here's an intro to him in conversation with Farzana Baduel . And a few other items from the chat this week:

• Canva + Leonardo. Canva-users, rejoice. This was from Rachel Miller and I've tried it myself - in fact, this week's cover was produced by it.
• Meta AI Studio. Meta is launching an an AI Studio. You can create custom AI characters for Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp (US only). No tech skills are needed to build these characters—just prompting. Example: AIs for cooking tips, meme generation, or creator clones that answer fan questions.
• GPT-5. Everything you need to know.
• Caveat emptor. This is behind a paywall, but from Ravi Lal : "Bottom line - this AI thing is just beginning and there are loads of Enterprise opportunities that the big guys will miss / mess-up."
• Disrupted music. Once again the music industry is in the crosshairs of tech disruption.
• Personal avatars. They're here, from Synthesia.
• Big opportunity. Stuart Bruce looks to the top 100 comms influencers for guidance on the opportunities of AI.
• For beginners. This is not strictly about AI, but I found it to be a useful introduction ....

Capital Markets

• Expert advice. A paper shared by Stephen Waddington finds that "hiring top-tier public relations agencies to support mergers and acquisitions can significantly boost deal outcomes. Companies employing expert advice saw a 1.32% return, translating to an average $86.23 million improvement in shareholder value."

Creative Displays Of Brilliance

• Snoop Dogg in Paris. IMO, Snoop has reminded us of the enormous opportunity of the Olympics, and how media companies can adapt with the times. I've been watching mainly through the BBC, which frankly could take a note or two.

ESG & Sustainability

• Climate 2080. Here's a great way to visualize local climate change effects in the future … although maybe with rosier outlooks than intended? I looked at London, which apparently will feel like southwestern France, and Austin, which will feel like the Mexican side of the Rio Grande valley …
• And from Dan Baxter : "I just looked up Toronto. It will apparently feel like Gassville,Arkansas. I have no idea what that means…"
• T-rex consumption. Olaf Grewe calculates the consumption costs of his Defender Land Rover with a unique unit of measure.

Library

• The greats. How long would it take you to read them all? Thanks, Andrew Bruce Smith .

Mis/Disinformation

• Election integrity. How communicators can fight disinformation. Thanks, Keren Darmon
• Ukraine. Arena of the biggest battle in the fake news war: Russians targeting Ukrainian civilians. Via Sergii Bidenko .
• Cyberbully shields. Elite athletes face horrific online abuse - how officials at the Paris Olympics are using AI to shield them. Thanks Catherine Arrow .
• Fanning flames. More on the English riots and the far-right agitators spreading disinformation, via Ann-Marie Blake . Related, from Shayoni Lynn FCIPR FPRCA . And also, from Stephen Waddington .
• But what about the humans? From Julio Romo :

I have a serious issue with headlines like this that focus on the channel, ‘did social media fan the flames …rather than focus on the people who post content on the channels. The issue here was and is the people. Focusing on the channel, puts a distance with those who agitate!

Item Of The Week: Anthropy

After a year off I was happy last week to rejoin the volunteer Anthropy UK community and its work to realise a more equitable, sustainable and prosperous Britain. I’ll be doing my best to support the efforts of Kelly Beaver MBE Steph Bailey Amanda Stuart and others to look at the role media, news and communications - and I’m looking forward to exploring this with anyone interested.

In the meantime, please give this a look and consider membership for yourself or your organisation.

Meet-ups

Photo failures on my part last week but great to catch up IRL with Louise Nicolson Mary Walsh Annie Chawla Dave Scott and Julio Romo !

Thanks!

If you'd like to jump into the live WhatsApp conversation, drop me a line for a link, and thanks as always to those who contribute each week.