Avsnitt
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Astroturfing, smear campaigns, social media manipulation, unauthorized release of private information, defamation, character assassination, whisper campaigns, media planting, and gaslighting.
These activities are undertaken by the seamiest, most ethically challenged public relations practitioners. While there are far more PR professionals who abide by ethical codes, the bad actors get all the attention, leading to a sordid reputation for the industry that some believe we will never be able to overcome.
The latest example comes from the agency representing actor/producer/director Justin Baldoni, who responded to accusations of inappropriate behavior by engaging an agency that employed all of the tactics listed above. Initially, the campaign had the desired effect but ultimately backfired as the campaign itself drew more attention than the original allegations.
In this short midweek episode, Neville and Shel examine the controversy and address the idea of requiring licensing or certification of all PR practitioners and whether it would weed out those who find codes of ethics to be mere inconveniences to be ignored.
Continue Reading →The post FIR #442: Justin Baldoni’s Attack on Blake Lively Explains Why PR is a Dirty Word appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.
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In this episode, Chip and Gini discuss the findings from the SAGA quarterly survey of small agency owners.
Continue Reading →The post ALP 255: What the Q4 SAGA Survey tells us about agency talent appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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The world’s biggest PR agency laid off five percent of its global staff. It’s a sign of the headwinds facing the industry, including reduced opportunities for earned media, which is what PR agencies spend a lot of their time trying to achieve. We’ll explore what’s happening in the PR agency world in the long-form FIR... Continue Reading →
The post FIR #441: PR, AI, and Social Media Are All Shook Up appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.
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The communication function offers practitioners a rare opportunity. It is one of the few roles in any organization involved in every aspect of the business. In this Circle of Fellows panel, you will hear international perspectives on how the role of communication extends beyond the exchange of knowledge and information. The panel shares thoughts on how communication fosters organizational collaboration and can be viewed as a cornerstone for professional success. Learn how the fundamental principles of strategic communication excellence can apply across different business sectors, underscoring its value in any professional context, and how effective communication enhances teamwork and innovation, drives organizational growth, builds trust, inspires change, and helps achieve results. A communication role can position the communications professional to influence, impact, and potentially lead other business areas. (Did you know that the late Intel CEO Paul Otellini was a marketer before ascending to the company’s top job?).
Continue Reading →The post Circle of Fellows #111: Professional Communication as a Leadership Foundation appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.
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Even when they know it has been rigged, people assign a lot of credibility to experiments. When they see the experiment produce favorable results, for example, potential customers might be more inclined to buy. Experiments can also influence decision-makers in your company -- again, even if they assume you put your thumb on the scale. The phenomenon is similar to wrestling, with audiences knowing the match is staged by enjoying it all the same. Neville and Shel review some research on the subject and discuss ways communicators can apply experimentation to their work in this short midweek episode.
Continue Reading →The post FIR #440: Experimenting for Influence appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.
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In this episode, Chip and Gini delve into the importance of empathy in agency management.
Continue Reading →The post ALP 254: Agency owners need to put themselves in other people’s shoes appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.
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There is a common thread among many of the predictions and trends posts that typically blossom across the web as the year draws to a close: AI agents are poised to revolutionize (a word we don't use lightly) work in 2025. The frontier AI models -- ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Llama, and a few others -- have captured imaginations and led to various uses throughout the business world. But these chatbots, which deliver answers to natural-language queries, will pale compared to agentic AI, which sets off to complete tasks that require multiple steps autonomously. In this short midweek episode, Neville and Shel delve into agentic AI and its possibilities for communicators, along with five other digital marketing trends.
Continue Reading →The post FIR #439: Agentic AI Tops Digital Trends for 2025 appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.
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Chip and Gini explore whether agencies should charge more upfront for initial work and creative approaches to managing client expectations and financials.
Continue Reading →The post ALP 253: Should your agency charge new clients a startup fee? appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.
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It doesn't seem to be a big deal at first glance. A Google AI Overview answers a search query at the top of a Search Engine Results Page (SERP). Beneath it, all those traditional links and snippets are still there. However, analyses reveal that many people are reading the AI Overview and calling it quits -- they never click a link to visit a website. That's concerning to organizations that have relied on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to drive traffic to their pages. In this short midweek FIR podcast episode, Neville and Shel look at the data and the trends and recommend actions communicators can take to ensure their web properties still get attention as the shift to AI search continues.
Continue Reading →The post FIR #438: Google’s AI Overviews Are Upending SEO appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.
