This week in PR (5 July newsletter)

This wasn’t a bumper week for content so this is a short bulletin. Perhaps there was nothing new to say about the election campaign in its dying days; perhaps the sporting summer had become a distraction for many.

There’s no commentary on the election here this week beyond our choice of photograph (you can read all about the election elsewhere). But here’s a thought: from now until November, the election will mean the US presidential election. Tom Carnegie anticipates this new topic in our selection this week.

In other topics, Jonny Bentwood provided his insider’s commentary on an AI in PR masterclass (he was a presenter and an attendee). In summary, he discussed the paradox of adoption: leaders recognise the need for AI adoption but are not providing guidelines for juniors; and that the barrier to adoption is not tool availability but rather about user experience.

We’re at the dawn of AI’s potential. The demand for structured training is high, as professionals seek guidance rather than being left to their own devices.

There was some useful commentary on growth-by-acquisition, and on the reasons why PR agencies might be considered attractive investments. This is perhaps a topic for another day.

This week, I’ve enjoyed listening to Darren Caveney’s messy comms career story. The way he tells it, the unfocused teenager from the West Midlands couldn’t settle on anything and he later on chose to study for a PR degree guided by Anne Gregory (‘PR royalty’). Yet he couldn’t wait to leave university to take up a summer events role at Euro 96.

As so many of us have done, he learnt on the job and latterly discovered his inner ambition - which was more about achieving influence than gaining a?grander sounding title.

Having been a director of comms, his life’s work has been to give back and encourage others through the Comms 2.0 community, Unawards and CommsUnplugged initiatives.

Darren Caveney passed on the ten lessons he’s learnt to his podcast interviewer Carrie-Ann Wade. I’m summarising them here. I especially enjoyed number 4; Darren Caveney emphasised number 10.

What advice does he have for aspiring communication leaders? Carrie-Ann Wade asked him.

1. Don’t tolerate bad employers ('I did that for five years').
2. Don’t put up with unpleasant people (in life in general).
3. If you’ve got the ‘Sunday nights’, you’ve got to do something about it.
4. If you walk into an organisation for a job interview and their brand values are written on the wall, get out. It tells you they have a problem.
5. Work on things you care about.
6. Find your passion projects (these don’t have to be work related).
7. Accept that you can’t be good at everything.
8. Learning comes in many forms, not just a paid-for course.
9. Ask for help (it can be lonely being a director).
10. Prioritise your own mental health. Take control of your diary and your email. Be selfish.