Stories and Strategies for Public Relations and Marketing

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"Stories and Strategies for Public Relations and Marketing," hosted by Doug Downs.

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Latest Episodes

Susie Wiles and the Cost of Poor Media Strategy

What happens when a top political strategist forgets the rules of media engagement?

This episode of The Week UnSpun strikes a nerve for PR professionals as Doug unpacks Susie Wiles’ widely criticized Vanity Fair interviews, where a lack of structure, message control, and audience awareness turned rare access into a strategic failure. It’s a masterclass in what not to do when the stakes are sky-high.

Then, the conversation pivots to a claim that’s rippling through the industry in the UK. Sir Martin Sorrell declared on BBC Radio that PR no longer exists, prompting fierce pushback from Farzana. The team’s defense of the industry is both impassioned and insightful, raising a critical question for anyone in communications. Is PR losing ground, or is it finally stepping into its own power?

Listen For

1:23 What went wrong in Susie Wiles’ interviews?
4:10 What are the 8 media mistakes she made?
6:51 Is PR really dead, as Martin Sorrell claims?
10:34 Why can’t PR pros explain what they do?
12:09 Is PR losing ground or evolving fast?

The Week Unspun is a weekly livestream every Friday at 10am ET/3pm BT. Check it out on our YouTube Channel or via this LinkedIn channel

Folgate Advisors

Curzon Public Relations Website

Stories and Strategies Website

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Why Your NGO Can’t Afford to be the “Best Kept Secret”

Nonprofits often describe themselves with a strange sense of pride: “We’re the best kept secret.” But in an era where funding is shrinking, donor expectations are shifting, and public trust must be earned every single day, staying a secret is no longer a virtue. It’s a liability.

So why do so many NGOs still hide behind humility, overwhelm, or the hope that their good work will somehow speak for itself?

It’s same problem everywhere. Leaders who underestimate the power of strategic communication. Teams overwhelmed by tactical delivery. Fundraisers separated from PR staff. And organizations with extraordinary missions that remain invisible. In this episode, how nonprofits can step out of the shadows, communicate their value with confidence, and build the visibility they need to survive and serve.

Listen For

5:11 Why doesn't good work speak for itself anymore?
10:12 How can NGOs attract top talent without top salaries?
18:52 What are the first PR steps for nonprofits to grow visibility?
21:04 Answer to Last Week’s Question from Cindy Lang

Guest: Marc Whitt

Website | Email | LinkedIn | X

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Stories and Strategies Website

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Who Will Control Hollywood’s Future? Netflix vs. Warner Bros

Who’s Really Writing the Stories That Shape Our World?

This week, we dive into the high-stakes power play unfolding in Hollywood as Netflix and Paramount battle to take over Warner Bros. What looks like a blockbuster business deal is, in fact, a global struggle over who gets to shape the stories that define how we think, feel, and remember.

Farzana explores the soft power implications of the deal, asking what happens when control of cultural narratives shifts to private or even foreign-backed hands. Doug examines the potential impact on creators, especially if Netflix, known for tight content licensing, wins control of vast historical archives. David brings in insider chatter from Hollywood, where some fear the deal could spell the end of cinema as we know it.

Also in this episode, we unpack why the UK is launching a legal PR offensive to keep English law as the gold standard for global deals and how Singapore is emerging as a serious contender.

Plus, is the US hurting its tourism brand with new visa requirements demanding access to social media history? And what can Australia’s ban on under-16s using social media teach us about digital policy and parental reality?

Listen For

3:53 How would this merger reshape global storytelling and soft power?

6:58 Why is the UK promoting English law as a global standard?

10:12 What makes Singapore law a serious competitor to English law?

15:39 Will new US visa rules scare away global travelers and harm tourism?

The Week Unspun is a weekly livestream every Friday at 10am ET/3pm BT. Check it out on our YouTube Channel or via this LinkedIn channel

Folgate Advisors

Curzon Public Relations Website

Stories and Strategies Website

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Winning Trust When the World is Skeptical

In every corner of the world the public mood is shifting, sometimes quietly and sometimes all at once. Climate anxiety, pandemic fears, economic pressure, geopolitical tension and a surge in concern about data security have all reshaped what people expect from companies.

For organizations trying to build trust across borders the rules keep changing. What mattered in 2019 did not matter in 2021. What mattered last year may not matter next year. And unless communicators understand these shifts they will miss the signals that determine whether a message lands or falls flat.

That is why this conversation with Steve Shepperson-Smith is so valuable. Drawing from Vodafone’s 75,000+ annual reputation data points and RepTrak’s million-strong global dataset, Stephen shares compelling insights on the critical 60/40 split between capability and character, and why the latter matters more than ever in polarized, politicized times.

Listen For

4:37 What does global data say about what drives reputation today?
6:52 Have public views on social and environmental issues shifted?
8:41 Are ESG and DEI labels now hurting more than helping?
10:57 Why is data security now a top consumer concern?
16:38 How can brands stay local in a divided global landscape?

20:40 Answer to Last Episode’s Question from Andy West

Guest: Steve Shepperson-Smith, Vodaphone

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Follow Farzana on Substack

Follow Doug on Substack

Curzon Substack

Stories and Strategies Website

Curzon Public Relations Website

Are you a brand with a podcast that needs support? Book a meeting with Doug Downs to talk about it.

Apply to be a guest on the podcast

Connect with us

Request a transcript of this episode

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The Agency Checkup: How Healthy Is Your PR Firm?

Most agencies can tell you how their clients are doing but ask how they are doing and the room gets quiet. The truth is that even the best run firms skip their own checkups. Margins thin out, teams burn out, and culture drifts while the spotlight stays fixed on the next pitch.

But what if agencies treated their operations the way a doctor treats a patient, tracking vital signs, diagnosing problems early, and prescribing real solutions before things spiral.

From hidden symptoms to running a full-scale agency fitness test, in this episode we look at what separates a healthy firm from one that just looks good on paper.

Listen For

3:56 What vital signs show if your agency is healthy or just surviving?
5:25 Are agency leaders really surprised by their own problems?
8:57 Is AI a threat or a tool for agencies to grow?
12:25 What four pillars make an agency profitable and strong?
18:15 What aha moment helped an agency turn things around?

20:03 Answer to Last Episode’s Question from Lionel Zetter

Guest: Andy West, West of Center

Website | Email | LinkedIn | X | Substack

Rate this podcast with just one click

Follow Farzana on Substack

Follow Doug on Substack

Curzon Substack

Stories and Strategies Website

Curzon Public Relations Website

Are you a brand with a podcast that needs support? Book a meeting with Doug Downs to talk about it.

Apply to be a guest on the podcast

Connect with us

Request a transcript of this episode

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Are Leaks Strategic PR Tools or Signs of Corporate Decay?

This week, we look into the murky ethics of media leaks and their growing role in shaping political, corporate, and cultural narratives. From leaked peace plans that spark international diplomacy to budget details released minutes before parliamentary debate, we dissect whether leaks are ethical whistleblowing or manipulative PR tactics.

Farzana argues that leaks often reveal broken internal cultures, while Doug, from a journalistic perspective, explores how leaks are used to test narratives and steer public perception.

Also in this episode, David wonders if written reports are becoming relics in a world obsessed with video and visual storytelling.

And we ask: Can AI help restore strategic thinking in PR? And should public relations finally be regulated like other professions?

Watch/Listen For

1:45 How will AI reshape PR, tactically or strategically?
5:36 Should PR be regulated like law or finance?
9:28 Are media leaks ethical, or just PR strategy?
14:33 Can visual storytelling replace traditional comms?
22:04 Are algorithms killing media access for everyone?

The Week Unspun is a weekly livestream every Friday at 10am ET/3pm BT. Check it out on our YouTube Channel or via this LinkedIn channel

Folgate Advisors

Curzon Public Relations Website

Stories and Strategies Website

Request a transcript of this livestream

Support the show

The Old Fashioned Deal: Trust and Influence in a Digital Age

Trust isn’t built in boardrooms or over Zoom. It’s built in the quiet moments. A conversation that lingers, a promise kept, a drink shared between people who still believe words matter.

In this episode, we explore how the foundations of influence have shifted from handshakes to hyperlinks, and what that means for anyone trying to shape opinion or policy in a world that’s forgotten how to connect.

You’ll hear stories from inside the world of public affairs, where relationships once forged in the late hours of party conferences now play out on screens and social feeds. We unpack why the human side of persuasion still decides who gets heard, who gets trusted, and who gets left behind. Because in the end, every message, every movement, and every bit of influence still comes down to people.

Listen For

6:42 Can you build real relationships online?
9:13 Is polarization killing cross-party lobbying?
12:52 Are autocrats on the rise?
15:00 How is public affairs different from stakeholder work?

16:05 Answer to Last Episode’s Question from Guest Nick Usborne

Guest: Lionel Zetter

Website | X | LinkedIn

Lionel’s new book The Lobbyist

Rate this podcast with just one click

Follow Farzana on Substack

Follow Doug on Substack

Curzon Substack

Stories and Strategies Website

Curzon Public Relations Website

Are you a brand with a podcast that needs support? Book a meeting with Doug Downs to talk about it.

Apply to be a guest on the podcast

Connect with us

Request a transcript of this episode

Support the show

Releasing the Epstein Files and is LinkedIn Gender Biased?

What happens when PR meets scandal, tech chaos, and gender bias?

This episode of The Week UnSpun is a whirlwind of explosive headlines. The trio of David Gallagher, Doug Downs, and guest host Miranda Mitchell look into the renewed Epstein files controversy and its potential to dominate headlines well into 2025.

They unravel Cloudflare’s swift crisis response and debate the alleged gender bias in LinkedIn’s algorithm.

Add a healthy dose of Cracker Barrel branding blunders and viral live-TV moments, and you’ve got a jam-packed show.

Listen For

2:03 What’s coming with the Epstein files and who could be impacted?
6:57 How could media coverage of the Epstein case harm innocent people?

10:46 How did Cloudflare’s apology turn disaster into a win?
13:27 Does LinkedIn’s algorithm favor male voices?
18:47 Is AI helping or hurting your brand voice?

Watch For

2:10 What will the release of the Epstein files reveal, and who gets hurt?
6:00 Should we worry about innocent people in raw investigative data dumps?
13:21 Is LinkedIn’s algorithm biased against women, and how do we know?
20:02 Will AI kill or save PR agencies in the era of LLMs and brand drift?
26:09 Did Cracker Barrel’s rebrand backfire, and what’s the PR lesson?

Guest Host Miranda Mitchell, Pretail
Website | LinkedIn | Contact

The Week Unspun is a weekly livestream every Friday at 10am ET/3pm BT. Check it out on our YouTube Channel or via this LinkedIn channel

We publish the audio from these livestreams to the Stories and Strategies podcast feed every Friday until Sunday evening when it’s no longer available.

Folgate Advisors

Curzon Public Relations Website

Stories and Strategies Website

Request a transcript of this livestream

Support the show

Is AI Quietly Rewriting Your Brand?

AI can imitate your voice, your words, even your face, but it can’t steal your story.

What happens when companies hand their storytelling to machines that don’t understand who they are?

As businesses race to automate, they risk losing the very thing that makes them distinct: the human truth that built their brand.

Listen For

3:15 How are story, narrative, and voice different?
7:00 What is brand drift and how does AI cause it?
10:04 Why do people distrust AI-generated content?
11:33 How does story protect brand identity?
14:54 How can you fight disinformation about your brand?

15:25 Answer to Last Episode’s Question from Guest Jessica Hope

Guest: Nick Usborne

Website | Email | LinkedIn | Instagram | Link to Nick’s Courses

Follow Farzana on Substack

Follow Doug on Substack

Curzon Substack

Stories and Strategies Website

Curzon Public Relations Website

Are you a brand with a podcast that needs support? Book a meeting with Doug Downs to talk about it.

Apply to be a guest on the podcast

Connect with us

Request a transcript of this episode

Support the show

Bio of Stories and Strategies for Public Relations and Marketing

"Stories and Strategies for Public Relations and Marketing," hosted by Doug Downs, is a podcast that explores the world of communication and its role in shaping our daily lives. In today's interconnected world, effective communication is essential for success, and this podcast delves into the various facets of public relations and marketing that contribute to effective communication strategies.

Through insightful conversations and interviews, the podcast delves into topics such as marketing, public relations, government relations, media relations, crisis management, stakeholder engagement, advertising, and strategic communications. The host, Doug Downs, provides valuable insights and practical advice for professionals working in these fields, as well as for individuals who hire communication experts.

From crafting compelling press releases to leveraging social media campaigns, from managing crises to engaging stakeholders, the podcast covers a wide range of communication-related topics.

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