The PRovoke Media Podcast

Global Women in PR talk #BreakTheBias for International Women’s Day

For International Women's Day, three members of Global Women in PR discuss this year's theme, #BreakTheBias, through the lens of tackling various forms of bias when recruiting women into the communications industry and supporting senior female talent. After an introduction by Global Women in PR co-founder and joint president Susan Hardwick, PRovoke Media EMEA editor Maja Pawinska Sims talks to Alice Weightman, founder and CEO of Hanson Search and online talent marketplace The Work Crowd; Valerie Boas, a freelance writer, speaker and facilitator based in Paris; and journalist Laura Whitcomb, global campaign manager for the 30% Club, an initiative to increase gender diversity in businesses at board and senior management level. 

Creating a Movement: The Science of Sleep and Productivity

Creating a Movement is a series on health and wellness, featuring in this episode Eight Sleep co-founder and brand head Alexandra Zatarain.

Creating a Movement is a series on health and wellness produced in partnership with the Bulleit Group. This episode features Alexandra Zatarain, co-founder of Eight Sleep. Built on the premise of using technology to improve sleep, Eight Sleep specializes in products including smart mattresses that track and promote better sleep, one of the most important pillars of health. Kyle Arteaga, founder and CEO of the Bulleit Group, also joins the discussion.

 

The Intersection Series: Tale of Two Tech Sectors - Apolitical vs Equitable?

In this episode of The Intersection Series, Aarti Shah talks with two influential tech leaders about justice, race, gender and how Silicon Valley is (or is not) responding to these challenges. Tale of Two Tech Sectors - Apolitical vs Equitable asks Charles Hudson, Managing Partner and Founder of Precursor Ventures and Syreeta Mussante, EVP of B2B & Enterprise tech at Praytel questions like: Can a company be both equitable and apolitical? Is the chasm between those who see silicon valet as a meritocracy and those who are willing to call out its inequalities getting larger? 

The discussion includes valuable insights from Hudson and Mussante as people of color in Silicon Valley. They provide an inside perspective on how big tech responded with recent racial reckonings in America and what companies can or can’t accomplish in this realm. Both discuss challenges working in places where not many peers look like them and the balance between friends who may say the wrong things and the larger systems which led those friends to unknowingly say biased things.  

This video conversation features the following panelists:

- Charles Hudson, Managing Partner and Founder of Precursor Ventures

- Syreeta Mussante, EVP of B2B & Enterprise tech at Praytel

- Aarti Shah, Past PRovoke Executive Editor (moderator) 

What does 2022 hold for consumer PR agencies?

The Academy’s co-founder, Mitch Kaye, joins the PRovoke podcast to talk to Maja Pawinska Sims about the challenges of running a consumer PR agency during the pandemic and the opportunities 2022 holds, from the talent crunch and hybrid working, to creativity and culture.

The PR industry’s overtime problem

Jane Morgan and Karolis Adomaitis join the podcast to discuss new research from PRHK, which reveals the extent of the PR industry's overtime problem. The Hong Kong PR association is aiming to address work-life balance challenges, which have been exacerbated by the city's unique circumstances, but have implications for agencies worldwide. 

PR trends we’d like to see in 2022

In this episode of the PRovoke Media podcast, Maja Pawinska Sims and Diana Marszalek talk through the 12 trends the PR and communications industry would like to see in 2022: in which we combine curation with aspiration and a healthy dose of pragmatism, but with enough idealism to give us all something to aim for in 2022. Ideas from our editors and industry leaders – including Torod Neptune, Jo-ann Robertson, Julianna Richter, Alex Malouf, Nitin Mantri and Joanne Painter – range from CEOs speaking up on human rights issues, to tackling disinformation, to putting a monetary value on trust, to a sustained focus on diversity and inclusion, to smarter use of technology, data, analytics and personalisation.

Don’t get cancelled: how CEOs can minimise the risk of speaking up

Dan Neale, the founder of Alfred, talks to PRovoke Media EMEA editor Maja Pawinska Sims about the agency's new Brands and Movements research, which found that corporate leaders are committed to embracing shifting consumer expectations that business now needs to put purpose on an equal footing with profit, but many are still nervous about the potential risks of speaking out on big societal and environmental issues through fear of cancel culture. 

Elizabeth Bananuka: Five years of BME PR Pros

Elizabeth Bananuka is founder of BME PR Pros, a platform that she launched five years ago to promote Black and minority ethnic inclusion in the UK PR industry. In conversation with PRovoke Media's Arun Sudhaman, Bananuka discusses the organization's five-year journey — which includes The Blueprinted diversity mark for agencies, and The Xec, the first leadership scheme for UK-based BME PR and comms pros. She also breaks down the challenges and criticism she has faced, and the positives she has taken from the experience. 

Supporting Black business owners with communications

Verizon’s Diana Alvear and Goodie Nation founder Joey Womack launched a partnership that sees comms leaders working with Black business owners on communications strategies.

Being Human In A Tech-Enabled World: Leadership

Being Human in a Tech-Enabled World is a four-part video series from PRovoke Media in partnership with AxiCom, on how different aspects of life and work – as humans and communicators – have changed since we were thrust into a virtual and hybrid world and how they might change again in the future, via the power of technology.

This fourth and final episode features AxiCom president of Europe Kate Stevens and Shane Ryan, global executive director of the Avast Foundation – which advocates for digital citizenship and inclusive, respectful and safe online experiences – in conversation with PRovoke Media's EMEA editor, Maja Pawinska Sims. The trio look at the challenges and reality of leading businesses and agencies in such tumultuous times: how does leadership steady the ship and navigate forward, and build a working environment that will survive the longhaul and not be a short term fix?