After two years of suffering through a pandemic that challenged international companies and organisations to the max, we thought 2022 would be the year of recovery and somewhat bring us back to a more confortable new normal. Instead Europe has to handle war and enhanced geopolitical challenges that most likely will stay with us for a long time. The world has changed - again. This puts great preassure on PR departments and PR agencies around the world. Are you ready for an upredictable and quickly changing 2022?

The good news are that the nature of PR is flexible, since it always have to consider the surrounding context and the world outside. Kristen Wessel, a member of Forbes Communication Council shares her best PR advices for an unpredictable 2022, where flexibility is the key word. Read her full report here

1. Create personalised pitches to journalists. Tailored messages to the individual editor instead of generic texts to all.

2. Combine affiliate marketing with PR. There are elements in the PR method and skills in the PR teram that will resonate well with your target group.

3. Planning is out - flexibility in. In uncertain times you need to be able to quickly change strtaegy, key messages and timings for activities.

4. Build deeper media relationships: Make sure you are in touch with journalists not only when you need them. Solid relationsships are more important when things might change or happen quickly.

One of the most common arguments for not using a PR agency is the belief that anyone can pick up the phone and talk to a journalist. How hard can it be? But, journalists are just like other professionals - they like to work with people that understand the craftmanship and the special needs and criteria that make a good news story - pereferably someone who also understands mutiple media formats. It's not all about interviews.

Link: Read the full Forbes article by Nicole Rodrigues where four practises are shared for those of you who prefer to go about without a PR agency. It's generous advice from a very experienced PR expert. And as a great extra this Forbes article also link to a hillerious Rolling Stone interview with Johnny Depp, where he made the big mistake to let his lawyer, instead of his experienced publicist, contact the reporter at Rolling Stone magazine.

Also: Here are my two bonus advices for this who think they will manage without a PR professional:

Timings, vocabulary and credibility are important. The understanding what constitues a journalistic news story is essential in order to have a meaningful dialogue with a journalist who normally is in a hurry some 12 hours a day. Whats the story? What's new? Why should I care? These questions need to have good answers, and you should have prepared yourself well before you make the call. Make sure you can deliver key messages and "Sell your story" in less than 10 seconds.

Understand the basic editorial routines and needs. For example, do you have a useful photo that captures the essence of the news story? No image, or an irrelevant image, will not help you get your story published. But, to the contrary, a very good photo might be the reason why your news story gets published in the end. Sometimes the actual story sits in the image. Never underestimate the need for really good visuals.

/Peter Anderson  

There is a big difference in responsibility for content between a technolgy website and a news website. Publishers have to resond on what is published in their media channel, no matter if they have produced the content themseleves or if they publish someone elses content. If Google and Facebook were publishers they have to take resonsibility if criminals are using their channels. Or if abusive and discriminating conting is published by others in their channels. This is why media quite quickly just closed down the possibility for readers to comment on articles when it was introduced widely on many news websites some 10 years ago. It was to expensive and complicated to look after what the readers published in the comments field. Since then viewer and reader feedback have been outsoursced to Facebook and and social media channels, and thus the responsibility.

If Theresa May and the UK government manage to put new publishing responsibility on the shoulders of social media, it  will probably mark the start of a big change. 

Read the full article in Mediabullseye by clicking here.

The effect of the traditional digital Press Release has been under debate over the last couple of years. Still it's by far the most successful way of reaching out to trade media. But what about fast traveling news? Is it still the best way? Probably not. As we all know well, PR has and will always orbit around relations, hence the name. And a personal contact directly into the heart of an editorial office is still the fastest and most reliable way of a single media outreach. But problems occur when mass communication comes into play. The distributed digital Press Release is weakening when it comes to fast news. Instead Social Media is regarded the most efficient way for this communication according to contributor writer Chelsea Segal at the Cox Business Blue newsblog, where she presents a Top-10 list of the most important PR trends for 2017. Click here to read her posting.

It might be an obvious conclusion for PR professionals. But in a time when social outreach becomes more and more limited without paid seeding to open the gates to the public, and marketeers still see social media as a highway to influence, the earned outreach has been somewhat neglected lately. John Hall, content marketing expert and a contributor at Forbes, puts earned media at the top of trends in 2017. Still the paid amplification is essential, but has to come second, he writes. This is the basis for all work at PAPR and we are happy to hear our model for PR and communication is on the go. Read John Hall's full article in forbes.com 

How to select the best PR people in the tech buisness, or any business? Business Insider did the most obvious, they asked the journalists. Who can better judge a good pr service than the professionals who actually depend on it. The list presents the most appreciated PR people, based on how they perform in: Understanding the needs of the press, delivering answers, pitching news stories and much more.

The list presents not only a great number of very skillful women professionals, it also puts many people from the new companies in the tech business in the top, like Airbnb and Uber. Although the usual suspects are placed in the top list as well.

Seet the full list: Business Insider's 50 top Public Relations people in the tech business 2016

There are many ways to generate attention. One is to make people upset. Designer clothing website, Lyst, presented a "Canine Collection" including 33 dog breeds offered as attractive accessories and presented with traditional clothing sizes and matching colours.

The reaction from the public came quickly in social media where the stunt was attacked by dog- and animal lovers. According to Lyst this was exactly what they hoped for. The PR stunt was part of a communication plan to put focus on Lyst's collaboration with Blue Cross and work as a response to what's sometimes called "handbag-dogs". These animals are often abandoned by the owners after some time when the dog is considered to be out of fashion.

Lyst wanted to take a stand by spark debate in social media. Lyst's position is clearly stated by chief marketing officer Christian Woofende: A dog is for life, not just for Instagram.

Read the full article by Siofra Brennan in Mail Online 

The PR methods have to be developed in line with a constantly changing media landscape. There are a number of trends that has been with us for a while, and there are a few new trends running up. This has to be thought of and catered for in your PR plan for 2016. Methods and mechanics are changing, but in essence it's all about creating relevant content and building relations with influencers as always.

For 2016 there will be increased focus on quality visuals, both stills and video. This is an essential part of all digital communication where we will see less text with a continous growth of image and video based social media channels getting bigger and more popular. And as PAPR told you already, even journalists are favourable to use social media in order to keep up with news.

John Hall, CEO at Influence & Co has listed the most important trends that he can predict for 2016

1. The traditional press release is no more
2. Thought leadership will become a growing PR budget priority
3. Content amplification will become (even more) critical
4. Negative brand advocates will be prevented through content
5. Online reputation management will be necessary
6. True influence will win over number of followers
7. Use of paid promotion and social ads will continue to rise 

Read John Hall's full article published by Forbes.

There is is something scary about translating your copy to a langauage you don't understand. Fingers crossed and you just have to trust the translater, right. Perhaps you need to do better than that when entering a new market.

For Taco Bell entering Japan, the translation of some product names to Japanese turned out to change the meaning slightly. The "Crunchwrap Court Beef" instead became the "Supreme Court Beef". And you might think this would be enough trouble already in a premiere campaign. But "cheesy chips" were translated to "yasuppoi chips", which in Japanese means something of poor quality or really cheap. Yes, twitter was flooded with jokes and laughs and the Taco Bell website had to be closed down and adjusted. Lucky they were not making a bilboard campaign.

Read the full article in Campaign, listing the five worst PR crisis moments in Asia in 2015

Christmas is the time for PR stunts that stands out. PR professionals struggle on how to engage with people in December, who are quickly overwhelmed and bored with never ending Christmas offers and activities in the streets and shopping centres.

Well, here is one for the lazy and bored: How about a 5 ft Christmas tree delivered to your doorstep, paying only £10?

This is what Uber offered through a PR stunt that took place on Decmeber 13 within a limited time frame. Payment and location and purchase was all catered for in the Uber app of course. Read Rich Leigh's full article in PRexamples.