Let’s leave 2020 behind us. We’ll look ahead to 2021 by discussing some of the biggest emerging public relations and communications trends with Matías Rodsevich, author of The PR Paradox. In this podcast, we’ll talk about the nature of PR in today’s world and why it’s more important than ever for B2B companies to create a customer connection by empathizing with them.

Curious about the other big trends for 2021? Listen to to learn more.

Do you have digital growth plan? If you don’t, you are not alone. We find that many companies jump into the digital arena without a long term strategy which leaves them floundering after the first campaign. In this Create Connect Communicate podcast, Michelle Ponto of EMG and Andries van Oers of Nymark Agency, discuss some of the best B2B digital strategies to help marketing professionals get on the right path to success.

How do you use your data analytics to measure success?

Johna Burke, Global Managing Director AMEC (Association for the Measurement & Evaluation of Communications), discusses PR analytics and AME’s Say no to AVEs (Advertising Value Equivalent) campaign. Analytics are an essential part of any communications plan, and this episodes explores which metrics you should be looking at and why. After all, “a million impressions doesn’t mean that a million people were impressed”. Listen in for some great insights on how to use your use your data to provide your company with valuable analytics.

The trade editor’s perspective: How to pivot your messaging in a virtual world

Robert Grace, a well-known reporter, writer and editor on plastics, design and sustainability, offers his perspectives on what’s working for visitors and exhibitors at virtual events, and what’s not. Join us for a wealth of insights on effectively communicating with trade media and your customers in a changing world, and why sustainability messaging is still a top draw.

Tips on getting your sustainability solutions noticed by trade media

Karen Laird, Editor of Sustainable Plastics, explains why a sustainability message is still so important within plastics and beyond. She offers her tips on how to get the news of your latest product launch out there, at a time when in person events are not possible. Listen in for some great B2B marketing communications insights that will help position your company within a circular economy.

Part 4/4 Communication through the crisis

Crisis communications is not an incidental strategy, it is something that needs to be maintained throughout the event itself and in preparation of future threats. Recent weeks have reiterated how central empathy and heart is to effective communications. An open, honest, calm approach that has blended facts with explanation, has helped to dispel rumors and speculation. They have also indicated the merits of a more tactical approach to communications that incorporates both speed and fluidity, rather than strategy alone. In the fourth and final episode of this series, we summarize what we have learned on this essential topic and discuss what communications may mean going forward to ensure corporate preparedness. We will outline the dos and don’ts and how can we apply these learnings going forward into a more long term communications strategy.

Part 3/4 Communication through the crisis

Forget to prepare and prepare to be forgotten. While the coronavirus disruption has been unprecedented in both scale and length, those who had a plan in place on how to stand up and tell their story have held their own. Even without the gift of extreme foresight, there are always unexpected event events taking place that require contingency measures. Think of the recent trade wars involving the US, the EU and China. Think of Brexit. It’s certainly possible to prepare for supply chain interruptions and great market uncertainty, both at a business level and from a communications standpoint. There are many insights to be gleaned from recent weeks, most notably how to best adopt the new communication tools that have become so ubiquitous. In this episode, we speak about how best to implement measures to prepare for the next unexpected event.

Part 2/4 Communication through the crisis

We are now starting to see some glimmers of light at the end of the tunnel of the current crisis. There is a certain level of optimism that this will pass and that some sort of normality will return in a few weeks’ time. Following an assessment of the initial impact, company leaders and their advisory teams are now starting to consider coronavirus communications on a go-forward basis, with an eye on recovery and a return to normal operations. But more likely than a new normal will be ushered in – and the history books may well be defining a pre- and post-Covid-19 world. So where do we go to from here? How do we as communicators pick up and move forward? In this episode, we take listeners through the strategic communication decisions that will need to be made for an ensuing long period of social and economic anxiety.

Part 1/4 Communication through the crisis

The coronavirus situation has presented the most complex communication maze in recent history. The scope, length and ever evolving scale of the global pandemic, has meant that communicators have had to be on our toes at all times. All this while often being physically apart from colleagues and stakeholders through a period of isolation. Right now the essence of effective communications has been to provide facts, but also to be empathetic and recognize the genuine concerns that employees, customers and stakeholders raise. At the same time, it has been about employing the best digital tools to carry that message across virtually. In this first episode of the series, we assess how the industrial sector has performed through the current crisis and what the most effective communications strategies have been so far.