Beyond the Noise - the PRWeek podcast

The Beyond the Noise podcast this week features regular host Frankie Oliver alongside PRWeek editor-in-chief Danny Rogers and co-founder of Purpose Disruptors Lisa Merrick-Lawless.

PRWeek UK’s Beyond the Noise podcast, which is published on alternate weeks, looks at some of the biggest issues affecting comms and PR. Download the podcast via Apple, Spotify, or listen on your favourite platform.

The trio discuss the climate emergency and the work of Purpose Directors – which is a non profit that launched in 2019 to help the advertising and communications industries . transition towards having emission by 2030, in line with the Paris Treaty.

The trio discuss the climate emergency and the work of Purpose Directors – a non-profit that launched in 2019 to help the advertising and communications industries transition toward lowering emissions by 2030, in line with the Paris Treaty.

The three experts discuss what the work of the non-profit could mean for the PR industry and its role in addressing the climate emergency.

Responding to a question on what those working in agencies could do to affect change, Merrick-Lawless says people need to find their own purpose in relation to the climate emergency and to use their own sense of agency to push for change.

Asked about the response to the climate emergency at Cannes, she said: “It’s a misstep by leaders at Cannes to think they’re a bit bored with purpose.

“There is a new generation coming through, and there is a massive talent drain from our industry, and that’s why.

“People don’t want to work in an industry whose only purpose is to sell people shit they don’t need,” she said, adding that 2023 was a “really interesting” moment for PR and its response to climate change.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our guests this week are Gillian Taylor, head of external communications at John Lewis, and Tori Pourzand, senior director of public relations at Asda. They are joined by regular host Frankie Oliver, the founder of New Society, and PRWeek UK editor John Harrington.

PRWeek UK’s Beyond the Noise podcast, which is published on alternate weeks, looks at some of the biggest issues affecting comms and PR. Download the podcast via Apple, Spotify, or listen in the browser above or on your favourite platform.

This year’s John Lewis campaign, ‘Let Your Traditions Grow’ – the first from its new agency Saatchi & Saatchi – centres on the festive tale of a Venus flytrap called Snapper and its relationship with a young boy.

Asda, meanwhile, has recruited Canadian singer Michael Bublé as ‘chief quality officer’ to showcase the high standard of its food.

Taylor and Pourzand discuss the customer insights and creative process that led to the creation of the two campaigns.

They talk about the role of 'purpose' this year and the substantial comms operation before, during and after the big launch.

The duo also provide insights into how they measure the success of a Christmas campaign.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From client pitching to the Post Office, PRWeek's latest Noise in Brief podcast looks at major stories affecting the sector over the past week or so.

Noise in Brief – a shorter offshoot of PRWeek’s Beyond the Noise podcast – is released fortnightly and features PRWeek UK journalists discussing major issues from the previous seven days or so.

Download the podcast via Apple, Spotify, or listen on your favourite platform.

This week's edition features PRWeek UK editor John Harrington alongside reporters Evie Barrett and Elizabeth Wiredu.

The trio discuss the major talking points behind the Post Office/Horizon scandal, looking at the communications responses and the wider implications for reputation and crisis management.

The findings of Edelman's latest Trust Barometer - which found growing unease and mistrust among many people around innovation - are debated. There's also a look at the backlash to the project from the campaign group Clean Creatives among others.

The client/agency pitching process is discussed following a story last week in which an agency was invited to pitch as a "courtesy".

Finally, with the trading numbers now in, we ask: which supermarket groups 'won' Christmas with their festive campaigns?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.