Strategic value, influence and worth

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It looks easy until you try to do it, it can get really messy and you’ll always need to get your hands dirty to create something successful.

It turns out that pottery is a lot like public sector communication, as I learned from our resident wheel spinner Lisa Ward who helpfully framed the pottery/PR/Great Pottery Throw Down crossover during our lunch break.

The latest #CommsLeads session focused on strategic value, influence and demonstrating the worth of good communications which all seemed like important points after all the political excitement of recent times. Continue reading

Reunions, happy endings & the power of stories

In my last blog I talked about the power of simplicity and how many of the communications fundamentals have stayed the same, despite the massive changes of the past two decades.

In the age of social media one of the key principles is still understanding what makes a good story and the best way of telling it. Continue reading

Thinking digital: curious minds & movie monsters

Ever wondered how many people in the world are left handed, how virtual reality can prevent car sickness or how data helps build the marvel universe?

More than a week later I’m still processing so many things after the Thinking Digital conference, which has become a legendary tech and innovation event in the North East although shamefully this was my first visit. Continue reading

The latest from NHS #CommsLeads

extAs a lifelong Newcastle Utd fan and regular tweeter you’d be right to imagine that I’m well used to disappointment and defeat, so it’s nice to start the latest blog with some good news for the North East – I’ve been elected as the new chair of the NHS Providers #CommsLeads Network.

I’m a very regular attender of these meetings and often blog afterwards so I was genuinely pleased (and surprised) to take up the role and follow the excellent Carrie-Anne Wade who has built such a useful national network. Continue reading

10 simple tips for pitching to broadcast media

8441842442_84f6d2deb2_kIn the febrile world of social newsfeeds, real time updates, 280 character soundbites and our obsession with ‘the new’ we can sometimes be guilty of underestimating the power of more traditional channels.

A recent CIPR session on media pitching reminded me that more than 300,000 people watch the regional BBC Look North news every night and that local radio has a unique reach and reliability across communities. Continue reading

Nostalgia, neurosis, animals and other lessons

Albert-camus

The French philosopher Albert Camus talked often of the contraction of living life well in a universe that has no meaning, and that only by recognising the absurd could an individual truly experience freedom.

He would have rejoiced at the average 2019 social newsfeed where the absurd and meaningless seem to have reached their apex. Sadly existentialist philosophy only goes so far for the hard working public sector comms professional, where the more practical and prosaic is probably more useful. Continue reading