The PR Week

On this week's episode of The PR Week, Andrew Bowins of RestlessUrban joins us in the studio to chat about building a lifestyle brand for adults over 50 and how that demographic’s social media and AI usage is evolving. He also discusses why working with agencies and corporations continues to inform his current role.

In the biggest marketing and communications news of the week, Steven Kehoe retiring from PepsiCo and public relations, new White House press secretary Katie Zacharia’s first press briefing, Kelly Clarkson’s spat with an artisanal shop in Brooklyn, and the continued fallout from the Cornell sexual abuse case.

And at the episode's outset, Steve Barrett speaks with PRWeek news editor Diana Bradley about her recent travels to South Korea, where luxury car brand Genesis invited press for a screening of their new short film.

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On this week's edition of The PR Week, Nick Ashooh, senior director of corporate and executive communication at APCO, joins us to talk about corporate reputation, what it takes to navigate today's complex stakeholder environments and working in Saudi Arabia. 

Plus, the biggest marketing and communications news of the week, including Golin Ketchum winning a national tobacco education campaign, Edelman helping Betty Crocker celebrate its 105th birthday, Chipotle's viral vegetable instrument campaign, brands moving beyond Hispanic Heritage Month, new data showing Gen Z uses social media as its most-trusted election info source, Karoline Leavitt joining Fox and key executive moves at Brunswick and Sanctuary.

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On this week's podcast, Jim Weiss, chairman and founder of Real Chemistry, joins us to chat about his podcast, Get Real with Jim Weiss, which explores personal health crises, or what he calls “getting hit by the bouncing ball.” He also talks about the importance of preventive care and why GLP-1s could be the most important thing happening in the economy. 

In the biggest marketing and communications news of the week, tech titans breaking bread with Presidents Trump and Xi, the latest in AI safety and regulation, Meta’s global comms lead, Edelman winning the American Egg Board’s creator AOR brief and the Cornell sexual abuse crisis. Plus the launch of the 2027 PRWeek US Healthcare Awards.

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Joe Cohen joined Axis in September 2016 as its CCO. Marketing was added to his purview in 2020. In that decade, Cohen has become one of the industry’s foremost authorities on not only managing risk, but avoiding it when possible. He knows how to construct marketing and brand campaigns that project strength and reliability without sounding overly alarmist about macro risks. His brands current “25 Years of Specialty Solutions, Elevated” initiative is proof of that. He understands that some of the biggest risks brands face are internal and operational. He and his team think about risk when it comes to everything from experimentation to philanthropy to even your choice of music for various projects. And he generously gives of his time and expertise to spotlight all of this and more during this podcast. 

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The industry is buzzing about the role of the chief communications officer, a topic jumpstarted this month by this op-ed in PRWeek by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Torod Neptune, a former top comms exec himself. 

Adding her expertise on this week’s episode is Candace Steele Flippin, VP of thought leadership and professional development at Page, who talks about her organization’s new research on the topic. 

Plus, the biggest marketing and communications news of the week, including why Converse apologized for a new campaign, layoffs at Edelman, the launch of Trump TV and the latest provocative Sydney Sweeney ad. 

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It’s definitely something on the minds of in-house communications execs: How is the chief communications officer position changing? Does it matter if it reports to the CEO? Is it shrinking in importance? The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Torod Neptune raised those questions in an op-ed last week, and Jon Harris discusses them further on this week’s edition of The PR Week. 

Plus, Harris talks about his expectations for entries for the PRWeek Awards 2027 and discusses the biggest PR and communications news of the week, including Frank Shaw stepping down at Microsoft and concerns about safety — human safety, to be specific — related to AI. 

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It’s a very special episode as Steve Barrett makes his return to The PR Week. 

The guest on the September 10, 2026, edition of The PR Week is Kenny Gold, who was appointed this year as Edelman’s first chief creator officer. 

He talks about the changing creator economy and creators as media outlets and news sources in their own right, as well as how his agency advises brands that are working with them. 

Plus, the biggest marketing, PR and communications news of the week, including how Publicis Groupe ended up handling media for both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, the start of the 2026 NFL season and the legacy of Gloria Steinem. 

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 Kelly McGinnis has worked across technology and consumer PR, most recently as chief communications officer at Levi Strauss & Co. Now, she’s teaching students about having a seat at the table in a graduate course at the University of San Francisco. 

On the agenda for this week’s episode: 

PRWeek reporter Jeremy Sodergren discusses the top PR and communications news of the week, including:

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The latest guest on The PR Week is Charlotte West, VP of global corporate communications at Lenovo. 

She talks about how Lenovo’s role as official technology partner of the 2026 FIFA World Cup was much more than a sponsorship, improving operations and even the broadcast of the tournament. West also talks about how her team is using AI, balancing one global message with regional specifics and making earnings calls more interesting. 

Plus, the biggest marketing and communications news of the week, including crises at Callaway Golf and Neutrogena, people moves at Walmart and Wendy’s, the start of the US Open and the death of entertainment legend and philanthropist Dolly Parton.

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From public affairs officer in the U.S. Navy to leading communications at New York Life and previously Voya Financial, Paul Gennaro has had a career spanning major organizations. He talks about that and how New York Life is implementing AI on the latest edition of The PR Week. 

Also on the agenda this week: PRWeek’s 2026 Hall of Fame class. And PRWeek’s Jess Ruderman talks about the biggest marketing and communications news of the week, including new appointments at Vaseline and Burson and The Athletic’s “Advantage calendar for football fans.”

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