PR Futurist | Stuart Bruce | Purposeful Relations - 🚀 PR Futurist #58 | RIP Francis Ingham | PR - stand up for biz against anti-'woke' ideology

Welcome

Still time to enter the DataComms awards

Stuart has written a heartfelt memorial to well respected colleague Francis Ingham, after the shock news of his untimely passing. Read the tribute on his PR blog as well as links to other moving tributes to Francis.

In other news Stuart is excited to be working on a project which will help to achieve net zero as part of a project group working on reducing carbon emissions from social housing stock, watch this space for updates.

Hurry, it's your final chance to enter the DataComms awards, deadline 31 March, Stuart will be one of the judges! Stuart speaks at a wide variety of conferences all over the world and his latest speaking gig was on AI and its impact on communications. He joined remotely to participate in a panel in India last week at the University School of Mass Communication, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprasthat University in Delhi. Another fantastic event. Enjoy the catch up!

News

Francis Ingham RIP

The global public relations industry is reeling from shock following the untimely death of Francis Ingham, who headed both the PRCA and ICCO. Francis was just 47 years-old and has made an amazing contribution to the public relations and communications profession around the world.

Stuart has written a heartfelt memorial on his PR blog and updated it this morning to link to some other obituaries and memorials.

Karen Marshall

Helping to achieve net zero

The bland title of the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report hides the fact it is about the danger of climate change. That's why I'm pleased to be part of a project group working on reducing carbon emissions from social housing stock.

It's early days, but it's a privilege to be working on such an important project that will help the UK on its journey to net zero.

Stuart Bruce

Corporate affairs

PR's role in standing up for business against anti-'woke' ideologues

Another great piece by the indefatigable Paul Holmes. I always argue Purpose and Profit are the two sides of the same coin. Businesses shouldn't simply be virtue signalling or boasting about their efforts, but constantly looking at how society is changing and how they can be a force for good. Not just because it's the 'right' thing to do, but because ultimately doing the right thing leads to a successful business that is a profitable business.

This isn't a new concept. In the UK George Cadbury and Titus Salt were some of the 19th century pioneers treating their workers responsibly and creating good communities for them to live and work in. Edward Filene took a similarly ethical approach to business in the USA.

Stuart Bruce

Is the pharma industry its own worst enemy?

Paul Holmes gets two articles in this edition of PR Futurist. In this one he looks at how the pharmaceutical industry often appears to be in the wrong, even when it's doing nothing wrong, because it's overly obsessed with secrecy.

I've often found this with companies in regulated industries. They often create their own problems by over interpreting rules as they think that's the 'safe' option. Sometimes it's the opposite and actually creates more reputational risk. By refusing to be more open and transparent they give the impression of wrongdoing, even when they aren't actually guilty.

Stuart Bruce

Data, measurement, analytics

Final chance to enter the DataComms Awards

Purposeful Relations co-founder Stuart Bruce is once again one of the judges at Communicate Magazine's annual DataComms Awards. The entry deadline is this Friday 31 March, so be sure not to miss it.

The DataComms Awards recognise and celebrate the use of data in corporate communications whether that be through the measurement and evaluation or in communications strategies.

Tim Bailey

Research and reports

Changes in decision-making are impacting marketing

Interesting data showing an increasing number of people are required to sign–off the purchase of marketing technology and services (MarTech). This obviously raises challenges in B2B marketing, with the marketplace starting to take on characteristics of B2C—with a need for broader top of the funnel marketing activity.

There is little comment on why this is happening, but one can speculate. Are MarTech platforms now more important and more widely diffused through organisations? Are organisations responding to the economic climate and subjecting purchases to previously unseen levels of scrutiny? Is procurement management appearing in more organisations and adding complexity to purchase decisions as part of their processes? Comments on a post card please.

Tim Bailey

Research into public relations education reveals mixed picture

A new research report by PR Academy argues that public relations is professionalising. Yet at the same time it reports on the steep decline in undergraduate public relations degree courses.

Stuart has taught postgraduates at Leeds Business School at the Leeds Beckett University in the UK and at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University in the Netherlands. He also teaches professional qualifications for PR Academy. He has taught on the CIPR Professional Diploma and has recently created a new suite of lessons for online delivery for the CIPR Digital Communication Diploma and the PRCA Integrated Communication Management Diploma.

Tim Bailey

AI, digital and social

Stuart speaks on AI panel in India

Last Thursday Stuart spoke about AI and its impact on communications at a hybrid event at the University School of Mass Communication, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprasthat University in Delhi, India.

Other panelists included Nitin Mantri, past president of ICCO and Group CEO of AvianWE; and Aaron Kwittken, CEO and founder of PRophet.

Karen Marshall

How ChatGPT is devouring corporate secrets

More concern about what happens to the information you input into a generative AI such as ChatGPT, this time from the lawyers of Amazon. They raise concerns that by using a public AI, Amazon employees might add proprietary information into the learning set which would then appear at a later date in other user's outputs. A subtle form of exfiltration of information.

This is obviously the lawyers’ job—to look for threats and the creation of liabilities for an organisation such as Amazon—and I have some sympathy that at least theoretically this is an issue. Whether there are real legal issues that will arise is another item for my list of ‘things that could very badly wrong with using AI’ — a rapidly lengthening list.

Tim Bailey

The Age of AI has begun says Bill Gates

Microsoft founder Bill Gates uses his personal newsletter to explain why AI is as revolutionary as personal computers, mobile phones, and the Internet. He gives us three principles for how to think about it.

Stuart Bruce

CommTech newswatch

Microsoft 365 Copilot brings AI to your own company data

We always knew that Microsoft would eventually integrate AI into Microsoft 365 and Windows. The ChatGPT integration with Bing simply uses AI based on publicly available data. A lot of the real value of AI with companies - not just big enterprise companies, but even smaller companies - will be using AI on their own data. That's what Copilot offers.

However, it means companies will need to invest in training. Most employees in companies already aren't capable of using Microsoft Office and use a fraction of its capabilities, and often use it badly. If comms teams and PR agencies are to really benefit from Copilot they will need to ensure employees have the practical skills to use it, as well as the vision to know what it's capable of, and the ability to use it ethically.

We'll be launching a support service later in the year to help in-house teams and agencies to start using it safely, quickly and successfully.

Stuart Bruce

Does Flipboard's $200k per month creator program mark its resurgence?

I used to be a big fan of Flipboard and it was one of the most popular tools that I showed to delegates on my PR courses. But it fell by the wayside in 2019 when I had a cull of some of the channels that I used.

I'm resurrecting my Flipboard magazine now as it appears that Flipboard is enjoying a resurgence.

You can subscribe to my Flipboard magazine here. You can subscribe by email and view it on the web, but it's best experienced as an Android or iOS app on your mobile or tablet.

Stuart Bruce

Get in touch

Assessing and buying MarTech and CommTech

The marketplace for MarTech and CommTech is complex and rapidly changing. Buying new software can be a challenge. At Purposeful Relations, we can offer you our extensive experience of the market to help find the best available solution for you. Make overpaying for features you won’t use a thing of the past. For a no obligation chat, drop us a line.