☕ TWTWTW #32 🏆 Announcing the Davos Communications Awards

Welcome

🐣 We're back!

If you're new to TWTWTW then allow me to introduce myself. My name is Stuart Bruce and I am a PR Futurist who advises in-house communication teams and PR agencies on how to stay abreast of the latest developments in the profession. This newsletter is a collation of some the stories and research I've collected. We're back after a two-week Easter break.

News

🏆 Enter the Davos Communications Awards

The Davos Communications Awards recognise exceptional professional work by public relations and communications professionals from around the globe. I’m honoured to be the chair of the jury and working with some excellent judges from the PR and communication community around the world.

There are two special factors that differentiate the Davos Communications Awards from the myriad of other awards. The first is we have three categories specifically to reward long-term sustained strategic communications work, rather than just campaigns which is the focus of most awards. The second is as well as a Rising Star award for practitioners under 30 we are also tackling ageism in the industry and have a Silver Star award for practitioners over the age of 50.

Corporate affairs

🚚 Amazon adopts aggresive public affairs strategy by attacking senior politicians on Twitter | Financial Times

Amazon is pursuing an increasingly aggressive public affairs battle in the USA which includes picking fights with senior politicians. Two of its most recent spats have been with Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren and Democrat Rep. Mark Pocan. It apologised to Pocan for falsely denying some of its workers were forced to pee in bottles while working.

Research and reports

💻 CEOs and C-Suite need to use digital and social media | Brunswick

For several years Brunswick has surveyed institutional investors to understand how they use digital information sources for research and to help make decisions. Not surprisingly this year's survey reveals that remote working drove digital acceleration, with YouTube use and newsletter subscriptions increasing dramatically. It also showed they want to and expect to hear from CEOs and the C-Suite on digital and social media. Something that many CEOs and members of the C-Suite are still unwilling or unable to do. Overall it is up 10 points, but in the UK and continental Europe it is up 16 points with about half of institutional investors saying they expect the C-Suite to be communicating via digital and social media.

🌏 Data and ethics are major concerns for Asia-Pacific PR practitioners

The latest Asia-Pacific Communication Monitor reveals that communications practitioners in Asia-Pacific are becoming more confident using digital and social media, but there is a lack of competence in using technology such as data, algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI).

CommTech tools

🥃 Clubdeck lets anyone use Clubhouse

The biggest problem with Clubhouse is that 75% of smart phone users can't use it as it is still only available on iOS. Clubdeck is a new third-party app that lets you use Clubhouse on your desktop using either Windows or a Mac. It works fine for me with the only minor issue being it keeps making me log back in rather than remembering me.

Professional practice

👨‍🏫️ Free virtual training sessions from Global Alliance

Throughout April the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communications Management is running a series of free virtual training sessions. The fact that its virtual means you can hear from public relations experts from all over the world that you wouldn't usually easily get access to. Sessions that caught my eye include: Professor Anne Gregory on 'Strategic challenges in a post-covid, AI world: Re-shaping the PR profession'; José Manuel Velasco on 'Internal communications and employee engagement'; Alex Malouf on the 'Challenges facing Middle East public relations'; Catherine Arrow on 'Communicating and sustaining eelationship with employees and customers in a crisis'; and Mark Weiner on 'How to quantify the return on your public relations investment.'

📗 Truth Be Told - new book on authentic communication in the purposeful age

Lots of people are talking about purpose but how many public relations and communications practitioners actually get it? John O'Brien and David Gallagher do get it. They've teamed up to write a fascinating book on how to harness the opportunities and why it's so important to be a 'truth teller' by creating authentic communication and avoiding 'purpose washing'.

My tip is to buy it direct from the Kogan Page website as you can get a bundle of the physical paper book (which is always my preference) and a free ebook version (which is great for travel and reference). I'll publish a full review on my website when I've finished reading it.

AI, digital and social

🎥 LinkedIn launches new features for personal profiles including video introductions

The new LinkedIn personal profile features include the ability to add an introductory video. Once you've added it your profile photo will have an orange ring and a preview of your video will auto-play silently within your photo frame - which sounds a bit like Harry Potter to me. Initially it doesn't do automatic captions, but LinkedIn says captions are imminent. The new 'Creator Mode' makes it easier for people to showcase the content they create and share on LinkedIn.