PR Delivered

One of the best parts about teaching is the opportunity to work with young people on building their skills and preparing them for the workplace. So, when I had the chance to do a teaching exchange through the EU’s Erasmus program with a PR school in Croatia – I jumped at the chance. When I was at the Edward Bernays University College, I met with a number of students  – and hoped a student would be interested in joining me on PR Delivered. Filip Marinović stepped up to the plate. Filip is the president of Bernays' student council and recently completed his final year of the Communications program. 

Thank you to Ryan Garbett for music and Rebecca Photopoulos for production. 

As a Croatian-Canadian, I’m always eager to visit the country of my birth. And when an opportunity emerged to do a teaching exchange through the EU’s Erasmus program with a PR school in Croatia – I jumped at the chance.

I travelled to the Edward Bernays University College in Zagreb, Croatia in May, where I delivered a series of guest lectures on a variety of PR topics. I enjoyed meeting the students and the faculty – and wanted to learn more about teaching and practicing PR in Croatia. Dr. Dejan Gluvacevic, the head of communication studies at Bernays, agreed to join me on PR Delivered. Have a listen. 

Stay tuned for PR in Croatia (Part 2) where I interview a PR student at the Edward Bernays University College. 

Thank you to Ryan Garbett for music and Sabrina Hempel for production of PR Delivered's Episode 31. 

In the early days of the pandemic, Ottawa Public Health's Twitter account was gaining buzz for the way the social media team was managing the account. It was fun, timely, informative and, most of all, engaging. So engaging, in fact, that the Ottawa Public Health Twitter account even caught the attention of Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds. The social media effort was inspiring and I was intrigued to learn more about their strategy, so I reached out to Kevin Parent, Ottawa Public Health's program and project management officer. On this episode of PR Delivered, Kevin shares his social media insights, his social media wins and his secret weapon - research. Have a listen to Kevin's stories about the power of social media. 

Building relationships - mino nawendiwin - is the mandate for Humber's department of Indigenous Education and Engagement. One of my fourth-year BPR students, Michael Jenkins, has taken on the role of Indigenous peer mentor with the department of IE&E - building relationships with Indigenous Humber students - helping them transition to college life and to build a strong Indigenous student network.

In this podcast, I wanted to speak to Michael not only about his PR education and experiences, but also about his role as an Indigenous learner and peer mentor building relationships with Humber's Indigenous students - and what he learned about his own Indigenous identity. 

Cole Douglas's PR journey is an often-used example of a BPR success story. A member of the inaugural cohort of Humber College's bachelor of PR, Cole was a keen and energetic student who was clearly listening in social media class. Before you could say TikTok - Cole started his own blog, established a consistent presence on Twitter and began networking with industry professionals. Cole was a CPRS student rep, a scholarship winner and secured a full-time PR job months before graduating. 

The podcast probes Cole's strategic approach to PR immersion - tracking his progress across PR agencies and his involvement in award-winning campaigns. Since recording this episode, Cole has changed positions and is now senior account manager at Narrative PR. 

During the pandemic, the #BlackLivesMatter movement impacted the PR industry by raising awareness of the lack of diversity and ushering in a renewed commitment among practitioners to tell a wider range of stories. Given the prominent role of influencers to tell those stories, it has become vitally important to choose influencers with strong followings among under-represented groups. Kensington Grey is an influencer agency that does just that. One of Kensington Grey’s recent hires is Jackie Abrowka – a Humber College bachelor of PR graduate – who is now a Talent Manager.

Jackie offered to share her insights on the importance of diversity in influencer relations; the role of a talent agency in developing influencer partnerships; and, securing a job during a pandemic.

Teaching social media to students across three programs - public relations, digital communications and journalism – means that I have to consider the role social media will play in their future careers. While PR and Digi Comm students may become social media content creators working for agencies and organizations – journalism students will create content for a different purpose – their content will be more personal – afterall it will be their own reputations at stake.

In this podcast, we explore the role of social media in the work of a journalist. As both a Humber prof and a reporter, Matt Elliott is uniquely positioned to share the inside scoop on how budding journalists should leverage social media – how to create content, navigate the challenges and ensure that what is posted is trustworthy.

Matt is a freelance city columnist for the Toronto Star, writes for CBC Toronto and launched an independent City Hall newsletter called City Hall Watcher. Matt also teaches journalism at Humber College.

In this podcast, I wanted to focus on how Martin Waxman identifies trends, keeps on top of trends and why he's decided to delve deeply into artificial intelligence (AI). I also wanted to get his take on what PR students and young practitioners needed to know and do to not only stay on top of AI-related issues, but to stay relevant in our ever-changing industry.

Martin is a digital communications strategist who has shared his insights on AI in PR on a number of industry podcasts including Inside PR, at industry conferences for CPRS and PRSA, and in a TEDx Talk for Trinity Bellwoods. 

Martin is the president of a PR consultancy, teaches social media at a number of institutions, developed a LinkedIn Learning series and newsletter, leads social media workshops, conducts AI research and sits on the #AIinPR panel. 

When Billy was a student in Humber College's BPR program - he was interested in the automotive industry - and it was his passion that drove him to his first job at Edelman Canada. When asked if you need a passion for an industry to succeed, Billy shared this advice  - "What you need in order to be successful is you need to be passionate about learning and not hesitate to put your hand up and ask for what you want." While still passionate about cars, Billy has now embraced all that agency life has to offer - and he's sharing his thoughts with you. Listen to Episode 24 of PR Delivered to learn more about how agency work can steer your career.   

Interac recently placed 8th on Leger Marketing's list of top Canadian companies in their 2021 Reputation Study and 4th overall on Gustavson's 2021 Brand Trust Index. Lauren Mostowyk is Interac's Director of Corporate Communications and on the team that helps keep Interac a trusted Canadian brand. In addition to speaking about corporate brand trust, Lauren talks to us about how her reputation and networking led her on a successful PR journey in corporate communication. Listen to Episode 23 where Lauren shares her insights and advice for PR students and new practitioners.