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PR in the Real World: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Viva PR
PR in the Real World offers a unique perspective into the world of PR through the lens of a regional PR agency, Viva – recently named the CIPR's UK Small PR Consultancy of the Year.The podcast offers insights into PR, marketing, and communications and it is shaped by the communities Viva serves—both geographically and across key sectors such as healthcare, advanced manufacturing, education, and the public sector.The podcast highlights Viva's ethos that PR should be impact-driven, and guests offer tips on how to gain real-world results without necessarily relying on huge budgets or celebrity names. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Latest Episodes
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- 1 weeks ago27 min
The Case for PR at the Top Table with CIPR President Farzana Baduel
Why are organisations with talented PR teams still ending up in reputational crisis? Farzana Baduel has the answer, and she sees it play out every week on BBC Radio 4.Farzana - founder of Curzon PR, CIPR president, Oxford Saïd Business School resident PR expert, and co-host of BBC Radio 4's When It Hits the Fan - joins PR in the Real World to explore why this is the most consequential moment in PR's history.She unpacks AI's real impact on the profession, why PR professionals are 'diagonal thinkers' who belong in the boardroom, and why the crises organisations find themselves in are so often avoidable. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- 3 weeks ago39 min
Why Judgement Beats Data in PR Measurement with Nik Pearson
In this episode of PR in the Real World, Tony Garner talks to Nik Pearson, who leads corporate communications and external affairs across Europe for Honda, about earning a seat at the table in PR. They discuss sharing downside risk, using the AMEC framework and judgement over data in measurement, and building trust across multinational comms teams. Nik also reflects on his move from Toyota dealerships into leadership, and what makes an inclusive, high‑trust culture. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- Aug 10, 202645 min
Methodology and Mindsets with Shayoni Lynn
Behavioural science is one of the most talked-about, and least understood, areas in PR. Shayoni Lynn, founder of behavioural science consultancy Lynn, joins Tony Garner on PR in the Real World to separate evidence from hype. She explains why diagnosis must come before intervention, how her team's research and randomised control trials shaped Welsh Government's 20mph campaign, and why protecting behaviours matters as much as creating them. Practical advice for teams of any size on building behavioural capability. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- Jul 27, 202641 min
What Makes a Story Worth Printing with Richard Slater
Richard Slater, founder of Lancashire Business View and the Red Rose Awards, joins Tony Garner on PR in the Real World to reveal what makes journalists bin a PR pitch, why AI-written press releases are instantly spotted, and how to craft a story worth printing. From newsroom instincts to judging a 1,000-strong awards night, Richard shares practical tips on pitching, storytelling, media relations and award entries that PR and marketing professionals can use today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- Jul 13, 202648 min
Communicating Complex Ideas Clearly with Alison Ramsay
How do you communicate complexity without losing clarity? In this episode of PR in the Real World, Alison Ramsay, Corporate Communications & Employee Experience Director at AWE, shares lessons from her career in defence communications. Discover why simplifying isn't "dumbing down", how data and employee experience are reshaping internal communications, and why great communicators treat employees like adults, not audiences. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- Jun 29, 202652 min
How to Shape the Narrative with Autotrader’s Laura Harvey
How do you build a multi-disciplinary corporate affairs function completely from scratch while navigating a high-stakes stock market flotation?In this episode of PR in the Real World, host Tony Garner sits down with Laura Harvey, Director of Corporate Affairs at Auto Trader, to map out the mechanics of leading a modern in-house communications department.Laura Harvey joined Auto Trader at a critical turning point in its corporate history, just as the legacy brand completed its massive print-to-digital transformation and prepared to float on the London Stock Exchange as a newly minted PLC. Laura shares her journey of constructing a comprehensive, in-house team responsible for an incredibly broad remit that spans financial reporting, crisis management, internal culture alignment, consumer PR and regulatory public affairs.The conversation digs deep into how structural industry crises (specifically the 2015 "Dieselgate" emissions scandal) served as the unexpected catalyst for Auto Trader’s highly successful data-driven public affairs strategy. Laura reveals how providing objective consumer behaviour analytics transformed the business into an indispensable advisory partner for government bodies like the Department for Transport and the Treasury. From managing internal stakeholder networks across a 1,000-strong hybrid workforce to shifting your mindset from agency pace to deep institutional curiosity, this episode delivers an essential guide for corporate affairs leaders.From an operational and corporate governance perspective, this episode covers:The Architecture of an IPO Comms Function: Establishing mandatory reporting workflows, processes and investor relations frameworks from a blank sheet of paper.Data-Led Public Affairs Engineering: Leveraging proprietary commercial marketplace analytics to act as an authoritative information barometer for civil service policymakers.The Velocity Trap of Reactive PR: Moving beyond a perpetual, post-pandemic crisis footing by deliberately blocking out structural planning time to reset institutional strategies.The "Helicopter View" of Corporate Operations: Training internal communications teams to connect functional dots across siloed business units to unearth narrative synergies.Building a Tech-First Employee Culture: Transforming organisational values from a legacy, decentralised print operation into a unified, collaborative digital brand.The Agency-to-In-House Mindset Shift: Navigating the corporate transition by swapping multi-client rotation routines for deep, programmatic stakeholder management.Laura shares a behind-the-scenes look at Auto Trader's advanced collaborative workplace design within Manchester's Circle Square innovation district. She reflects on her early career roots executing consumer commodity indexing reports for Tilda Rice, launching digital television networks and navigating a surreal marine conservation media junket through Mexico and Guatemala.This discussion is required listening for:Corporate Affairs & Investor Relations Directors: Tasked with listed PLC compliance, macroeconomic tracking and multi-disciplinary department building.In-House Communications Managers: Seeking to expand their tactical remits into strategic public affairs, executive positioning and policy lobbying.PR Agency Account Directors & Founders: Looking to optimise their advisory services by truly understanding the internal regulatory and stakeholder pressures faced by corporate clients.Public Relations & Business Management Students: Analysing legacy brand transformations, marketplace dynamics and financial communication design. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- Jun 17, 202642 min
The Leader Who Made Themselves Unnecessary with Sarah Ogden
Sarah Ogden, Chief Client Officer Europe at Zeno Group, joins Tony Garner to share 25 years of agency leadership insights for this episode of PR in the Real World. They cover what makes teams thrive, why AI threatens junior PR roles, the behavioural science underpinning great communications, and Zeno's Clarity 2030 research — revealing that 72% of comms leaders expect greater influence by 2030, but only 29% feel ready. Essential listening for PR professionals navigating a rapidly changing industry.Links and ReferencesZeno Clarity 2030 - https://clarity2030.zenogroup.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- Jun 1, 202659 min
"It's a Great Time to Have a Brain" with Antony Mayfield
What happens when you stop treating artificial intelligence like a simple tool and start treating it as a "cognitive accelerator"? In this episode of PR in the Real World, host Tony Garner sits down with tech prophet, author and CEO Antony Mayfield to unpack the reality of working alongside frontier AI models.Antony Mayfield, co-founder and CEO of digital change consultancy Brilliant Noise, has spent decades successfully calling technological shifts, from the initial corporate scepticism of social media to the sudden emergence of large language models (LLMs). Antony breaks down how he ripped up his agency's traditional operating structures to rebuild the business as a "living lab," providing clear operational strategies for any communications team looking to survive the next wave of automation.Moving past the basic "software-as-a-tool" approach, this episode explores complex, system-level change management. Antony outlines real-world workflows that went from weeks of production down to hours, including how his creative director prompted Claude to generate fully interactive website case studies and how his team entirely reconfigured a senior executive pitch deck for BMW over breakfast. Balancing deep curiosity with a disciplined, healthy scepticism, this conversation addresses the reality of rapid model updates, cybersecurity anxieties and the shift from conversational chatbots to autonomous, collaborative agent teams.From an operational and strategic perspective, this episode covers:The "Cognitive Accelerator" Metaphor: Understanding generative AI as an active thinking partner that speeds up strategic framing - while learning to spot the safety hazards of moving too fast.Building a Living Lab Team Culture: Why establishing cross-functional weekly "Show and Tells" accelerates organisational literacy far better than static corporate training modules.The Transition to Agentic Systems: Navigating the pivot from transactional prompt-and-response chatbots to sophisticated multi-agent workflows that automatically coordinate enterprise software.The "Services as Software" Shift: How the collapse of software production costs is fundamentally reshaping the billable-hours agency business model.Fostering AI Readiness & Psychological Safety: Why effective tech transformation requires leaders who admit they don't have all the answers, creating environments where teams can safely experiment, critique and fail.Why the Liberal Arts Still Win: How strong foundational skills in language, logic, philosophy and precise textual framing give communication professionals a distinct edge in an AI-driven market.Antony highlights the intense pace of international production through the lens of "involution," warns against the corporate trap of over-investing in rigid enterprise licenses without training for digital fluency and shares his personal media diet, including the Hard Fork podcast and Lenny Rachitsky's product management series.This episode is essential listening for:PR Agency Founders & Innovators: Transitioning away from legacy billing models toward productized services and agile operations.Chief Digital Officers & Change Consultants: Tasked with structuring secure, scalable AI integration plans for global brands.Creative Directors & Strategists: Looking to safely scale production and conceptual mood-boarding without losing artistic control or emotional resonance.Corporate Comms Leaders: Trying to balance near-future technological forecasting with steady, human-centric team leadership.Links and ReferencesBrilliant Noise - https://brilliantnoise.comBN Edition - https://bnedition.substack.com/Antonym - https://antonym.substack.com/Prepared Minds - https://brilliantnoise.com/prepared-minds/Lenny's Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/2dR1MUZEHCOnz1LVfNac0j?si=e0c080d940684c30Hard Fork - https://open.spotify.com/show/44fllCS2FTFr2x2kjP9xeT?si=3c36f7db39
About PR in the Real World
PR in the Real World offers a unique perspective into the world of PR through the lens of a regional PR agency, Viva – recently named the CIPR's UK Small PR Consultancy of the Year.The podcast offers insights into PR, marketing, and communications and it is shaped by the communities Viva serves—both geographically and across key sectors such as healthcare, advanced manufacturing, education, and the public sector.The podcast highlights Viva's ethos that PR should be impact-driven, and guests offer tips on how to gain real-world results without necessarily relying on huge budgets or celebrity names. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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