The Young Changemaker Awards were launched by PRovoke Media and WE Communications in 2022 to celebrate young female communicators from underrepresented groups across North America, UK/Europe and APAC/MEA.

In this podcast, the third class of recipients gather with WE founder/CEO Melissa Waggener Zorkin and PRovoke Media editor-in-chief Arun Sudhaman to discuss their the program's importance, the lessons they are hoping to learn, and their advice for PR industry leaders. 

This show features the 2024 Young Changemakers:

• Adina James (UK/Europe), account director, Allison
• Mei Lee (APAC/MEA), senior designer, Retroviral 
• Paula Chirinos (North America), SAE, Ketchum

Former AIA brand and communications head Stephen Thomas joins the PRovoke Media podcast to discuss his new book, entitled 'Reputations of Value: Winning with Corporate Reputations in an Unpredictable World.'

In conversation with Arun Sudhaman, Thomas discusses why and how he wrote the book, which features insights from numerous communications leaders from across the globe. He also explores whether brands can be 'outrage-proofed' in today's febrile environment, where many may choose to remain silent rather than risk a backlash.

Bookings Holdings chief communications officer Leslie Cafferty discusses how technology is empowering consumers to see the world.

In the third edition of our Cannes podcast series, Avian WE CEO Nitin Mantri sits down with Arun Sudhaman to discuss why climate change and ESG issues are becoming non-negotiable for brands. Mantri also discusses how these themes inform corporate communications in India, and their implications for the broader PR market in that country. 

In our second podcast from Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Weber Shandwick’s EMEA CEO Michael Frohlich and David Levin, co-founder of sister IPG social creative agency That Lot, talk about what every brand in Cannes is after: cultural relevance. The duo talk to Maja Pawinska Sims about how brands can not only intersect with culture shifts but also drive cultural impact in fast-moving times.

In the first of a series of special podcasts from Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Hotwire’s co-president of North America, Heather Craft, talks to Paul Holmes about how communicators can bring creativity to ESG reporting and tell compelling stories about brand accountability that resonate with multiple stakeholders and audiences.

Heather Kernahan, CEO of Hotwire Global Communications, shares paths and pitfalls to creating loyalty through environmental, social and corporate governance communications.

Topics Covered: 0:00 Introductions 2:32: What if This is New to Me? 4:57: The History of ESG 7:57: Start with the Top-Line Narrative 9:57: Get Executives Involved 14:01: Consistency Between Internal and External Messaging is Always a Problem 15:37: Make Employees Part of the Strategy 20:51: Where Does This Fall in the Priority List for the Company? 22:10: You’re Likely Already Doing Great ESG Work (and Don’t Know it) 

Every single industry is a target for cyber criminals these days, but Anna Ruth Williams, founder and chief strategy officer at ARPR, and Geoff Blaine, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at SonicWall, have insight on how companies can better protect themselves before an attack. 

In this episode of the PRovoke Media Podcast, Celen Vasquez provides insight into the organization COOP, and how it trains under-employed college grads for careers in marketing and communications. A COOP graduate, Vasquez discusses the roots of the industry-specific program and how it works with PR and marketing agencies to help launch careers.

Armando Triana, senior vice president of social media at Coyne PR, and Henry Langer, vice president of customer success at Julius Influencer Marketing, discuss how social media influencers are educating and entertaining a growing number of audiences in new ways.

James Wright, Global CEO of Red Havas, and Anne Tyrer, Vice President of U.K. Corporate Affairs and Communications at American Express, share how brands can be authentic in their purpose initiatives and how they communicate about them.

After six years running Edelman Mexico as general manager, Mariana Sanz in 2021 added serving as CEO of Latin America to her responsibilities. In this episode of the PRovoke Media podcast, Sanz talks to Diana Marszalek about overseeing a region with widely varied countries and cultures.

Influencer Shanda Foster and Marina Maher Communications senior VP Kristine Fan join the PRovoke Media podcast to discuss what it takes for influencers to generate conversation and trust while dispelling misinformation in the healthcare space.

More companies are embracing multiculturalism and approaching their audiences with a renewed recognition – and celebration – of their differences. This is especially true in the health care space where there is a growing recognition for the need to create culturally relevant campaigns that speak to all audiences. In this episode of the PRovoke Media Podcast, Megan Miller is joined by Ricky Fairley CEO of TOUCH, The Black Breast Cancer Alliance and Dina Alban vice president, and co-chair of the DE and I committee at Coyne PR, to talk about how the industry is adapting to multiculturalism. 

In this episode of the PRovoke Media podcast, Lyndon Johnson, the founder of Toronto-based communications agency Think Differently, talks to Maja Pawinska Sims about being a neurodiverse agency leader, as well as introducing SCIENCE, his new 'operating system' for strategic communications, which blends academic theory, integration, scientific methodology, operational best practice and workflow. 

Edelman's Joseph Kingsbury and Ferguson's Victoria Morrissey join Paul Holmes to discuss findings of Edelman's latest B2B thought leadership study regarding the pandemic's impact on business-to-business audiences.

Discover Puerto Rico CMO Leah Chandler joins the Provoke Podcast to discuss bringing Puerto Rico tourism back to life after repeated crises.

Zeno Group CEO Barby Siegel and Egami CEO Teneshia Jackson Warner join the PRovoke Media podcast to discuss their firms’ new partnership centered around diversifying communications.

While the majority of businesses were sending employees home at the beginning of the pandemic, Moderna was rapidly scaling. When the pharmaceutical company joined the race to a vaccine, it grew overnight by more than 2,000 employees. Suddenly every Moderna employee was thrust into the public spotlight, making it more important than ever for leadership to ensure employees and their families felt cared for and supported.   In this episode of the PRovoke Media Podcast, Megan Miller, Head of Content Partnerships at PRovoke Media talks with Scott Allison, global chairman & CEO at Allison+Partners and Tracey Franklin, chief human resources officer for Moderna, about the impact of the pandemic on Moderna — a company that was propelled to global notoriety as it worked toward a COVID vaccine —  and role culture played in its success.  Allison and Franklin discuss the unprecedented value of face-to-face video calls with their people during a crisis, as well as the unexpected ways in which they met the needs of their employees during a time of risk and uncertainty. Moderna’s established culture that already prioritized taking care of its people was put to the test during the pandemic as employees’ needs demanded new types of support that included things like childcare and meal deliveries. It was this commitment to putting people over the work that was instrumental in Moderna’s successful development of a COVID vaccine.  Topics like burnout, growth, working from home and handling being a company shot into the global spotlight as Moderna are also discussed.  

A great partner can make or break a campaign. In today's PRovoke Media Podcast episode, "Perfecting the Partnership," we talk to Coyne PR and Eggland’s Best about their long-running relationship and the strategic partnerships they've launched along the way. Together, they've been marketing the brand's eggs for more than 10 years.

To explore the strategy behind their long list of successful partner-pairings, Megan Miller, head of content partnerships at PRovoke Media, speaks with Jackie Peskin, vice president at Coyne PR, and Dave Holdsworth, vice president of marketing at Eggland’s Best.  The agency-brand relationship has brought life to several unique partnerships including ones with Lifetime Fitness and the colorful lifestyle brand, The Home Edit. While many wouldn't have expected eggs to have much in common with an organizational brand, Peskin's research and background in nutritional studies led to the insight that reorganizing the way food is stored inside a fridge can actually help people eat healthier — something with which Eggland's Best strives to be associated. Peskin and Holdsworth also discuss the surprising ways in which the Covid-19 pandemic affected their work, most notably making the decision to scale back Eggland’s Best advertising during the beginning of lockdowns as consumers were having difficulty finding any eggs available in their supermarkets. The conversation concludes with Peskin speaking on the importance of the firm and the brand's roles in vetting possible partners for the value a partnership will lend to enhancing that brand’s identity. 

Allison+Partners MD Jeremy Seow and technology journalist Eileen Yu join the PRovoke Media podcast to examine how tech news is changing in Asia. The discussion follows an Allison+Partners research study that explored the battle of brand vs product, with tech news now encompassing a wide range of topics, including policy issues, geopolitical tensions, security breaches, and workplace culture. The podcast explores this shift and its implications for brands, journalists, and technology storytelling.

2021 saw Clyde Group publish its first IDEA (Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity, & Accountability) Report, a transparent accounting of the firm’s accomplishments and shortcomings in DEI. In conversation with PRovoke Media’ Diana Marszalek, founder Alex Slater and senior VP Contessa Kellogg-Winters discuss the open and honest feedback employees provided through the report — and what the agency is doing to follow up on it.

Redhill founder Jacob Puthenparambil joins the PRovoke Media podcast to discuss the changing nature of globalisation in the PR industry. In conversation with Arun Sudhaman from PRovoke Media, Puthenparambil explores how Asian companies can shift the conventional narrative in terms of multinational expansion, and why so few agencies from Asia have built global networks. 

In this episode of the PRovoke Media podcast, in partnership with Cirkle, we discuss the growing importance of B2B influencers. Maja Pawinska Sims talks to Amy Searle, B2B managing director of UK consumer, corporate and B2B agency Cirkle, and Mike Chapman, head of wholesale at PepsiCo. The conversation covers Cirkle’s latest Trading Up report on how to use influencers to boost B2B campaigns and the agency’s Retailer Inner Cirkle initiative, as well as PepsiCo’s introduction of the Extra Flamin’ Hot range across its Doritos, Walkers and Wotsits brands, as an example of a smart pre-launch partnership with retailers which had immediate and measurable commercial impact.

In this episode of the PRovoke Podcast, Paul Holmes talks with Rick French, founder and CEO at French/West/Vaughan a PR agency that was one of the first to start acquiring other small boutique Ad and PR agencies. 

Rick goes into detail about acquiring the Ad agency West and Vaughan to help grow his business and along with it, the range of options he could offer current and new clients. 

The two also discuss navigating the culture clash of merging companies, acquiring a firm with its own way of working. They also speak on working through those cultural differences, and becoming stronger, and more unified through them. On that subject, Rick stresses the importance of having a similar philosophical identity with the principles at the firm to be acquired. 

French/West/Vaughan produced the iconic and longstanding Wrangler Network for the jean brand and Rick discusses how that came to fruition and how an ad campaign became a profit generator for Wrangler. 

Lastly, Rick talks about how his work producing content for clients has led him to work in TV and Film production.

In this episode of the PRovoke Podcast, Paul Holmes has a conversation with Jim O’Leary, COO at Edelman, about the roles of both CEO and CCO, and how they have evolved in the last five to ten years as compared to the last two years.

Both Paul and Jim agree that the role of a CEO is incomparable to past generations of CEOs.  Previously, CEOs were figureheads who handled the business systems, financial elements and board relations. Now, CEOs spend increased time relaying the role of an organization in social issues, as  well as its role in society more than ever before.

Now that this has shifted the focus for CEOs, it also has changed the roles of CCOs within an organization. Advocacy is a much bigger part of the corporate communications roles than it ever has been.

Similarly to social issues, the “Great Resignation” has put pressure on organizations to be clear and transparent with their staff about where the company stands on social issues—topics that need to be handled well, lest the risk of alienating employees.

Lastly, the two discuss the human element in public relations. We have never before been able to know so much about public sentiment towards a company internally and externally, and being clear with your company’s values as to how they relate to your consumers, staff and shareholders is the most important factor in connecting with people today. 

Gusto Collective founder Aaron Lau joins the PRovoke Media podcast to discuss his efforts to build an Asian holding group, with specific strengths in brand tech, luxury PR and immersive storytelling. Lau, who previously held senior roles at Cheil and DDB, explores the opportunities and challenges that exist for a homegrown player in an industry that has historically been dominated multinational conglomerates. 

Influence In Healthcare: MMC’s Olga Fleming and Maddie Simko On Sharing Healthcare Information Via Social.

The rise, the predicted fall, and the ultimate staying power of influencers has been jarring and rejuvenating for the PR industry. And, as we learned during the Covid pandemic, influencers play a key role in healthcare communications, which has changed dramatically over the last two years.

With that in mind, we partnered with Marina Maher Communications on a new video series on the role influencers play in healthcare. In each episode, members of MMC’s team of specialists will explore the topic from different angles.

In this premiere episode, we speak with Olga Fleming, MMC’s president of healthcare and corporate, and strategist Maddie Simko, who led research looking at the place and power of healthcare influencers.

In this episode of the PRovoke Media podcast, Hotwire global CEO Heather Kernahan and Michael Kaye, LinkedIn’s product communications manager, discuss impactful steps comms industry leaders can take to widen applicant pools and keeping existing talent interested and engaged. Among the most important: debunking myths that keep people out of the business by showcasing the range of options and opportunities it offers.

PRovoke Media has partnered with The Orange Blowfish to discuss the changes in how retail brands connect with consumers in China and how global brands can capitalise on these trends. In this discussion, Asics Greater China MD Hilda Chan discusses her approach and learnings with The Orangeblowfish founder and creative director Siu Tang and PRovoke Media editor-in-chief Arun Sudhaman. 

PRovoke Media follows up its in-depth coverage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine by discussing the public relations and reputation issues raised by the horrific events unfolding in Eastern Europe. In conversation with Arun Sudhaman, Paul Holmes and Maja Pawinska Sims explore the fallout for brands, agencies and the PR industry in general, along with the implications in terms of Russia's long-running disinformation campaign. 

This is the Luminaries Mentoring Series, a video series that PRovoke Media launched in partnership with Lippe Taylor. This episode features Barri Rafferty, head of communications & brand management at Wells Fargo, and Maureen Lippe, founder & chair, of Lippe Taylor.

The candid conversation covers the challenges leaders face in a post-pandemic world that ostensibly includes people returning to the office. Keeping employees engaged, maintaining a strong culture and making employees’ commutes worthwhile are among the topics explored.

The global pandemic — that we’re very much still immersed in — has put healthcare center stage. At this moment, we’re seeing the complex interplay between health tech, providers, pharma, policy makers and other stakeholders on a global scale. It's both breathtaking and often bewildering. And even before 2020, healthcare was quickly becoming one of the most compelling areas for public relations. With that in mind, we partnered with Real Chemistry — formerly W2O — on a new series, Healthy Bites. In each episode, we will have a quick chat with a healthcare expert to provide a digestible "what you should know" to help the industry stay ahead of the rapidly changing healthcare public relations and communications landscape. And because healthcare touches every aspect of our lives these days, we hope these 10-minute conversations will be useful no matter what your day-to-day role is. In this episode, PRovoke Media senior reporter Diana Marszalek talks to Emily Poe, Real Chemistry’s group president of integrated communications.

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. 

In this discussion Havas Red CEO James Wright joins PRovoke Media editor-in-chief to discuss how he is rethinking the 21st century network agency model to better adapt and respond to client and talent trends. Wright discusses his work in terms of consolidating Havas Red's disparate agency entities into a cohesive whole, his approach to acquisition, talent and much more, in a wide-ranging conversation that reveals how the PR agency model is ripe for disruption.

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.

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) 

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.

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. 

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.

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 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. 

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 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?

The global pandemic — that we’re very much still immersed in — has put healthcare at center stage. At this moment, we’re seeing the complex interplay between health tech, providers, pharma, policy makers and other stakeholders at a global scale. It's both breathtaking and often bewildering. And even before 2020, healthcare was quickly becoming one of the most compelling areas for public relations. With that in mind, we partnered with Real Chemistry—- formerly W2O — on a new series Healthy Bites. In each episode, we will have a quick chat with a healthcare expert to provide a digestible "what you should know" to help the industry stay ahead of the rapidly changing healthcare public relations and communications landscape. And because healthcare touches every aspect of our lives these days, we hope these 10-minute conversations will be useful no matter what your day-to-day role is. In this episode, PRovoke Media senior reporter Diana Marszalek talks to John Capodanno, Real Chemistry’s president of financial, corporate & capital markets communications.

Topics covered:

01:40 Changes in corporate comms

03:44 Preparing for future challenges

04:31 The corporate comms skillset

06:22 Exemplary organizations

07:48 Reaching the c-suite

Paul Nolan, COO and co-owner of B2B technology specialist agency CCGroup, talks about neurodiversity in the PR industry and his own late ADHD diagnosis.

In this episode of the PRovoke Media podcast, we look at neurodiversity in the PR industry in a conversation between Maja Pawinska Sims and Paul Nolan, COO and co-owner of B2B technology specialist agency CCGroup, who was recently diagnosed with ADHD after a 20-year career in PR. Nolan talks about his diagnosis, the impact on his personal and professional life, his experience of being a neurodiverse leader in PR, and how the industry can better support and embrace neurodiversity.

Resources:

Neurodiversity in PR: From Kryptonite to Superpower

PRCA/CIPR Wellness Audit

PRovoke Media partnered with the Hoffman Agency to explore how public relations ideas and strategies can be deployed to address B2B challenges and drive tangible, sustainable business outcomes.

The discussion featured the following panellists:

• Justin Lam, Business Executive Officer, Nespresso HK & Macau
• Marty Filipowski, Director of Public Relations, APJ, Nutanix
• David Hardoon, Managing Director, Aboitiz Data Innovation
• Caroline Hsu, Managing Director AP, The Hoffman Agency
• Sheel Kohli, Chief Marketing Officer, Eqonex
• Arun Sudhaman, Editor-in-Chief, PRovoke Media (moderator)

0:00 Introductions & relevant experience 6:05 Changing role of PR in B2B marketing strategy  23:27 Long term objectives vs short term focus 29:34 Understanding what PR can accomplish 35:40 Changes in PR investment, from media relations towards social media, owned/paid content and influencer marketing 50:05 Using data and commstech to measure and prove return on PR investment 1:07:17 Quality of B2B content

Nik Govier founded Blurred three years ago and the agency has quickly become a hugely successful business that was ahead of its time on ESG and purpose. But the journey hasn’t all been smooth. In this frank and moving conversation with Maja Pawinska Sims, Govier talks about her personal story and how she and her team have dealt with multiple cancer diagnoses and bereavement along the way.

IPG Dxtra’s chief inclusion & diversity officer Margenett Moore-Roberts joins the Provoke Media podcast to discuss an initiative calling on white parents to discuss race and racism with their kids.