Paul Joseph

Not so much a lightbulb moment as an ongoing evolution of an industry that was once very publicly accused of 'fannying about with press releases'. I defy anyone to have made the prediction 20 years ago that PR would become the wonderful toolkit of tactics that we have today. Of course, we expected change, but some of the ways in which we are expected to adapt copy and to deliver content are way beyond the parameters we were once given. While that can be somewhat overwhelming, not least as every day really is a school day, it is also really exciting as we explore current trends and new and innovative ways of working. We will be heading to London tomorrow to meet with a client and to capture multimedia content, trend-led social posts and traditional editorial copy to share with media. Never a dull moment and a further reminder that as an agency, Open Communications UK Limited is SO lucky to work with the best brands - and clients - that trust us to push boundaries and to try new things. Watch this space for updates. #PR #Tactics #Content #Multimedia #SocialMedia

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Looking forward to exploring the future of magazines in today's ever-evolving media landscape at the PPA 2024 Festival with industry leaders Katie Vanneck from #Hearst and Phillip Swinden from #Haymarket. 📚✨ Key issues we will look at include: 🔹 Consumer brands have some of the deepest connections to their readers around. How do you sustain this amidst the rise of creators and influencers? 🤝 🔹 The challenges and realities of consumer media venturing into B2B verticals. Is this shift as seamless as it appears? 🔄 Let me know what your key questions are. #MediaInnovation #PPAFestival2024 #PublishingFuture #DigitalTransformation

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The PR Week award nominations have been announced this week (big PR industry awards) And, as usual, the big agencies with the big budget clients are forefront. I’m not taking away the work they do, because often it’s brilliant. But they usually have massive budgets and a team of people working on them. What these awards overlook is the incredible small business owners who are using PR too. The ones who are using it to grow their business, highlight their expertise, connect with new audiences and get known for what they do. Some of the results from the businesses I work with speak for themselves. - What about my DIY PR Member who's about to announce (another) huge retail partnership that's a result of her Christmas PR activity from last year? - Or the member who is now stocked in Liberty after the buyer spotted them in a magazine - Or the member who is now paid to speak as an expert in their field, having joined The PR Set with no experience in her sector - Or the member who used PR as part of her marketing strategy for her book launch (that hit the best seller charts) - Or my 1-2-1 Accelerator client who secured a six page feature, has been featured in several top tier titles, created new revenue streams as a result of her PR and collaborated with some mega brands - Or the member who used her brilliant PR in her very successful crowdfunder campaign. (which resulted in her being overfunded) -Or the member who has consistent PR over the past 8 months and is growing her business month on month -Or my 1-2-1 Accelerator client who hit the ground running launching her business and being featured in several key publications as well as creating content for a large platform - Or the member who delivered her first TedX Talk -Or the member who has done so well building his profile as a lead name in his industry, he's now doing workshops at the most prestigious festivals, working with corporate clients and has his own column in a magazine (and so much more) They don’t have the budget to enter these awards (and they shouldn’t either as it’s not going to do anything for their business)... So here is The PR Set’s award to all you amazing businesses who are smashing their PR. I see you and I’m proud of you!

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This time 19 years ago, Georgina Blizzard and I were excitedly preparing to soft launch our new PR service model onto the UK market (and beyond). 💡Here are 19 things I’ve learned… KIDDING! I don’t think anyone is here for that. What people do seem genuinely interested in is how it’s still going strong after almost two decades, when so many partnerships and job shares fail. Here’s my stab on the secret sauce: 🌶️ Conviction - we just knew we were onto something with our idea of an agency staffed only by teams of experts, matched exactly to every client, working 100% remotely and flexibly. That's kept us going through tough times 🌶️ Agility - from how we've flexed our childcare, to how we approach client challenges. Every single The PR Network team is different (the largest spans 16 countries) and we can 'pivot' very fast 🌶️ Trust - obviously 🌶️ Empathy - for each other’s issues, for our team needing to work flexibly, for clients struggling with a problem in their team or one of their markets. We like to challenge the status quo and think laterally to solve problems 🌶️ Relaxation - as PR people we naturally rush and burn out. But this year we’re taking August off, after the virtual building didn’t collapse when we job-shared the last summer holidays! Eileen Boydell is doing an amazing job in the MD seat supported by the rest of our highly experienced perm team, so we can take time off to be with our families without worrying. PR pros also love acronyms. CATER sums it up nicely. We’ve had to adapt our offer constantly to cater for everyone’s needs & remain relevant. I’m a little worried this post falls into humble brag territory…so for balance, here are 19 things we got wrong: Only joking! However, that’s a list I definitely will write one day to help those who come after us. George, we can put it at the back of the book… Harriet Bateman Russ Read-Barrow Katy Campbell Karen Meachen Emilie Lien Sarah Hollingsworth

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⏳ Just 4 days left to make your voice heard! We're calling on all Black PR and comms professionals to share your experiences. Together with PRWeek UK and Opinium, our One Step Forward Two Steps Black survey aims to uncover the truth about inequities, celebrate successes and set a new standard for our industry. Back in 2020, nearly half of Black communication pros told us they’d never received an internal promotion. We want to know if things have changed. Are you being hired, recognized, and rewarded fairly? Your input is crucial to shaping meaningful recommendations for change. The survey is anonymous and takes just 6 minutes to complete. 🔗 Hit the link below to participate and help us pave the way for a more equitable future in PR and comms. 📅 Remember, the survey closes this Friday, 28th June 2024. Let's make a difference together! ✊🏾 https://lnkd.in/eM--X-Fs

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Here's my April 2024 review of PR Pitches and mergers & acquisitions in the UK PR scene on the PRmoment Podcast, where Ben Smith and I discuss the biggest pitch wins and mergers and acquisitions that the PR sector has seen in the last month. April’s PR pitch update: - Hovis appoints Clarion. - Brixton Brewery (Heineken) appoints Fanclub. - Brompton Bikes appoints The Romans. - 19 Crimes - part of Treasury Wine Estates Portfolio appoints Manifest. - Scottish Widows Life Insurance and Pensions provider appoints Team Spirit and The Agency Partnership. - The Macallan appoints Havas Red. - William Grant appoints Exposure. - HM Treasury appoints Teneo and Lexington. - Renault appoints Ready 10. - Motorway appoints Fight or Flight. - Shark Ninja appoints Burson. - Tinder appoints The Academy. - Carlsberg appoints Hope&Glory. - EA appoints Premier. - Hootsuite appoints Words Pixels. - Cancer Research appoints Shook. April’s M&A update: - Accenture buys Unlimited. - WPP announced that leading global investment firm KKR has made a growth investment in FGS Global. - Together Group (owner of Purple) buys Frame Publicity. - Cavendish expand into NI and ROI with the acquisition of MCE. AAR, PCB Partners, Andrew Bloch & Associates https://lnkd.in/eWGK4dit

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