Paul Joseph

Can you, or should you engage in PR if you don't have regular news to put out? We speak to quite a few companies who quite understandably* think there isn't much point in doing PR if they don't have 'hard news'. They're often talking about funding, or the lack of recent news on that front. Or they might have great partnerships they want to shout about but these are under NDA or aren’t able to be publicly shared for other reasons. Yes, the tech and business media can seem fixated on covering funding and other markers of growth and success like big deals or impressive awards. Yet lots of our clients get regular PR coverage - sometimes 8 or 10 pieces per month, without ‘new news’. They might have instead: 🗞 A company growth, or ‘pivot story’ 🗞 A founder ‘hero story’ 🗞 Industry insight, from their sales team perhaps 🗞 Proprietary data which points to a trend 🗞 A new product, or a move into a new area which points to a trend 🗞 Staff stories - apprenticeships or longstanding members 🗞 Opinion - a new take, a strong view, an honest admission… *they should come to us for a strategy session where our team of PRs and ex journalists can take 2 hours to brainstorm and unearth stories & angles ⭐ #PR #news #marketing #techpr

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Focussed pitching over the last few weeks, grounded by solid PR strategy has secured some terrific coverage for Shine PR clients across a range of top tier media outlets, with some big exclusives, interviews and features secured for Q4. If you’re looking to: 🚀 Raise your brand profile ✨ Improve your brand image ⚡️ Connect with your target audiences 🎙️ Manage your reputation 💥 Stand out from the competition 📰 Generate positive publicity Then drop us a line: [email protected] #PRScotland #TravelPR #HospitalityPR #FoodAndDrinkPR #PRCoverage #ClientCoverage #CoverageWins #MediaCoverage #PressCoverage

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Why brands need to turn to the creative industries to retain their customers. As the UK slumps further into a black hole, the creative industries will become the beacon of light brands need to reach for. #CulturalRelevance #CommunityandCulture Quick read! https://lnkd.in/escReNVT

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Business partners or suppliers? I would wager most PR agencies would say they do some of their best work with clients that view and treat them as partners over suppliers. Those relationships that can be built so there is trust and respect and as the PR agency "supplier" you can genuinely offer insight and advice into getting the best possible results. You see yourselves as an extension of the client team and work together to deliver mind blowing work that have real commercial results. It might even go as far as those clients you feel really valued by as a trusted partner are the ones you are also most likely to go above and beyond for? I often have this discussion with the agencies I partner with on how important the same relationship works when the PR agency is the client side. Of course I often relate it to working with a recruiter and how the best work and results comes from developing a collaborative working relationship, however it is true for all suppliers a PR agency might work with. It is a principle we can all frequently remind ourselves of, but perhaps is even more important in a tough or stressful market. Treat others as you wish to be treated. It is a philosophy that can be hard to get right but one I try to stick to in both my personal and professional life. Do you think having proper commercial partnerships matter or is it better to just have a client and supplier relationship?

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Here’s what’s (sadly) noteworthy in PR this week: massive media job cuts. What does this mean for PR? And what does this mean for journalists? Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the job cuts, and we stand in solidarity with our friends and colleagues in the media who are struggling during this time - whether you’re facing a job loss or trying to keep your head above water with a significantly reduced team. #publicrelations #PR

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Back in the early noughties these types of ‘formula’ were a handy tool for PR folk looking to secure coverage for all sorts of brands. Remember the formula for calculating the ‘beer goggles effect’?! Out of curiosity, for a bit of fun, I asked ChatGPT to come up with a mathematical model that quantifies the impact of thought leadership and visibility on investment appeal. I won’t share the whole thing, but this is the headline formula it came up with. II = B + (wV×V + wC×C + wP×P) + ϵ Here’s how it works: 🔎 Visibility (V): Increasing the public presence of the CEO or founders—through media appearances, conference engagements, and social media—raises the company’s profile among potential investors. 🤝 Credibility (C): Demonstrating a solid track record, supported by peer-reviewed publications, industry awards, establishes the company’s reliability and expertise. 🧑‍🔬 Perception of Leadership (P): These efforts culminate in a stronger perception of the leadership team, which is crucial for gaining investor trust. (Mathematician connections - feel free to challenge this! 😄) But there’s a much easier way of demonstrating my point: Visibility = Investment. You really don’t need to have a complex understanding of algebra to see that making your founders more visible - showing their leadership, their expertise, their strategic thinking - makes your life sciences business more investable. #ChatGPT #ThoughtLeadership #ExecutiveVisiblity #LifeSciences #MakeBusinessSocial 😁 I'm Chris 🗣️ Partnering with life sciences companies to raise their profile, visibility and authority Liked this post? Want to see more? 🔔 Ring the bell on my profile 🚀 Follow me ➡️ Connect with me

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As discussed during the PR Moment Agency Growth Summit last week, awards contribute to reputation and awareness which in turn are key drivers for your pipeline in 2025. So if you are looking to get a head start on your growth ambitions for the year ahead, now's the time to start capturing the great work your team and your agency have done for clients. Keep in mind that clients buy from agencies who do great work and who can demonstrate expertise in solving the problems they are facing. If that's not a reason to hit the PRmoment Awards 2025 early entry deadline of 13th December, I don't know what is!! #growth #agency #agencynewbusiness #PR #PRAgency

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Perfectly presented posts - hit or miss? As a PR and content marketing agency, a big proportion of our day at Open Communications UK Limited is spent developing content (copy and imagery) to be shared across social media channels. Given that the brands we work with differ massively, there really is no one-size-fits-all. In fact, we've found that while one approach will deliver for a brand, it will fall flat for another. It's all about testing and measuring. What I've noticed with LinkedIn company pages is that brand posts are becoming increasingly polished. The imagery is perfectly set and consistent with a colour palette. My question is, do you think this helps or hinders a post and its performance? Personally, while I don't want to see poor quality imagery or badly written posts, I like things to look real. I will always respond to something that feels more authentic than perfectly curated. I'm interested to hear other people's thoughts and preferences. Caption: Trying to get a lovely picture during a walk with my dog, Duke. Duke having absolutely none of it, resulting in a far from perfect shot. #Socialmedia #Posting #Content #Imagery #Video #PR #ContentMarketing

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Are agencies destroying the planet? or can they be part of the solution? This is the topic we're currently wrestling with at BIMA (British Interactive Media Association) Perspective Council. You're welcome to join the conversation tomorrow where I'll be joined by my amazing Co-chair Beatrice Andrew and phenomenon Ann Longley, FRSA, Brad Smith and Chellsie Brooks. The industry needs to have more uncomfortable conversations and we can all be participants in the process. You can join the session using the link below 👇🏼 #BIMAperspective #sustainability #advertising

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This article on PR Week yesterday offered nothing new in times of the PR recruitment market. It is hard. It has always been hard. Attracting and retaining the best talent is a constant challenge for PR agencies. Never in my 20 years' in the industry has there been a "easy" time for hiring. It has typically always been skewed to candidate led or client led. That said some of the challenges of course have changed, both with attitudes of candidates and agencies but also methods of hiring. I remember having to ring prospective candidates at their work desks to headhunt them, well before people would just send off generic messages! What I always say to candidates and clients is it is always evolving and always changing. The lows don't last, but nor do the highs for either side. Retaining your best people is always your first step in also hiring the best. Hiring for attitude and aptitude over "perfect on paper" almost always works better. Listen to your people, what are their priorities? Actually action things you discover. Listen to your recruitment partner, we have a huge amount of insight into the market and what candidates want, which processes are working and where people want to work. Oh and above all else. If you want to have the best teams, hire diverse talent. It makes commercial sense, you will do better work that reaches wider audiences and to top it off "a diverse and inclusive culture" regularly comes up high on priorities for my candidates. Yes times are tough right now but "this too shall pass". https://lnkd.in/eSBsQ-95

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Big thanks to the team at PRWeek for featuring my perspective on how the PR world is embracing BlueSky! It’s interesting to see how this emerging platform is shaping conversations and redefining engagement strategies. Check out the article here (you need a subscription though!) #pr #BlueSky #socialmedia #publicrelations

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This is the first year we've entered the AMEC Measurement and Evaluation Global Awards at Acorn Strategy. We've spent a lot of time refining our process to ensure that what we do produces more than just vanity metrics—it has true impact, with purpose, and drives business results. After watching from afar for years, we've been shortlisted for 3 out of 3 of our entries! This is also a recognition that the best work comes from clients who are true partners. Honest, transparent, and willing to share access to business outcomes, they’re committed to long-term partnerships. Clippings, billboards, website visits—they’re all nice to have, but what have they actually contributed to business objectives and social impact? Very excited to be in such great company. I’ve been crushing on the Specsavers campaign and obviously love our partners at CARMA, but also... Met Gala and Super Bowl 🤩 #AMECAwards #BusinessImpact #TruePartnership #AcornStrategy #CommunicationsStrategy #MeasurementMatters #AMECAwards #BusinessImpact #TruePartnership #AcornStrategy #CommunicationsStrategy #ImpactWithPurpose #MeasurementMatters

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70% of the PR sector got a pay rise in the last year. This is down from 79% in the previous year. A survey of over 400 UK in-house and agency corporate communications professionals from The Works, found that 82% of in-house and 76% of agency employees were “feeling OK to very happy” with their pay. This is an increase of 4% and 13% respectively, on the previous year. The Works said this highlighted how a soft market and companies tightening their comms budgets had “taken their toll” on the industry as the reason for the drop in pay rises. It’s really interesting to see the comparison between in-house and agency professionals salaries, bonuses and pay rises.

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Have you ever looked at my profile and wondered just what it is that Skout does? This is a great overview from our MD, Rob Skinner that sets out who we are, what we do and our areas of expertise. If any of this resonates with you, feel free to drop me a message and we can arrange a quick catch up to chat about how we can help you reach your strategic marketing goals. #b2bpr #b2bpragency

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