Beyond the Noise - the PRWeek podcast

Two PR creative directors dissect the effectiveness of this year’s Christmas campaigns in the latest episode of PRWeek’s Beyond the Noise podcast.

Steve Strickland, executive creative director at One Green Bean, and Lucy Baker, creative director at Earnies, sit down with PRWeek UK’s Evie Barrett in this week’s Beyond the Noise episode.

Beyond the Noise looks at some of the biggest issues affecting communications and PR. Download the podcast via Apple, Spotify, or listen on your favourite platform.

The pair give their views on the 2026 cohort of Christmas campaigns, analysing the main trends and noting which they liked best.

They discuss celebrity cameos, with Strickland sharing his view that Christmas campaigns are now the UK’s equivalent of the Super Bowl in the US.

Strickland and Baker also speak on the importance of having a flagship TV advert, even in the age of social media, as well as how earned media comes into play.

Elsewhere, they share their favourite Christmas campaigns beyond the typical supermarket and retail brands.

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How has Reuters been innovating in the AI age, and what does it mean for comms? PRWeek finds out in the latest part of the Future of the Media series - which is now live on the podcast feed.

Our guest is Jane Barrett, head of product at Reuters, who has overseen the AI strategy and earlier led a digital transformation of the newsroom.

Speaking to PRWeek UK editor John Harrington, Barrett offers advice on landing PR pitches and gives other tips for communications professionals.

She discusses how AI has been “transformational” in the newsroom, and describes how the business has been using chatbots and embracing GEO, alongside other innovations. She talks of the increasing need for “empathy” in journalism, the use of social media, and combatting the “mushrooming” problem of fake AI ‘experts’.

The journalist also explains how fundamental skills of journalism remain hugely important – and what the future might hold.

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What do the winners of the recent PRWeek UK Awards tell us about industry trends in 2026? PRWeek’s latest podcast takes a look.

Beyond the Noise looks at some of the biggest issues affecting communications and PR. Download the podcast via Apple, Spotify, or listen on your favourite platform.

In the podcast, PRWeek UK journalists Danny Rogers (editor-in-chief), Siobhan Holt (deputy editor) and Evie Barrett (deputy news editor) chat about the awards night, which took place last week (21 October) in London.

They discuss the winners, specifically the rise in campaigns hitting back at ‘big tech’, and the other key themes among the winning agencies this year.

They also reflect on the industry and the reasons behind the rise in winning entries from smaller, independent agencies versus the network agency groups.

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PRWeek looks at more of your comms confessions in the latest episode of the ‘Am I the PR A***hole?’ (AITPRA) podcast.

In each episode of AITPRA, PRWeek will read out your anonymous confessions and our judges – Lynn Advisory founder Shayoni Lynn and Hoffman Agency UK co-MD Richard Fogg – will decide whether an ethical line has been crossed.

Confessions can be submitted via this link. All the confessions are totally anonymous – PRWeek has no way of identifying the confessor.
Download the podcast via Apple, Spotify, or listen on your favourite platform.

This week’s confessions include:

Swearing about a journalist when the journalist could hear.
Swearing at a Eurostar employee after missing a train to a press conference – then blaming journalists for the event starting late.
Not standing up to shake a client’s hand because the confessor was not wearing trousers.

The episode is hosted by PRWeek UK editor John Harrington.

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How do you recruit comms and PR professionals in the AI age? PRWeek’s latest podcast takes a look.

On this week’s Beyond the Noise podcast, Don Ferguson, managing director of creative comms agency Hope&Glory (pictured above, left), and Laura Oliphant, founder of comms consultancy Stand (above, right), share their insights on the recruitment market.

Beyond the Noise looks at some of the biggest communications and PR issues. Download the podcast via Apple, Spotify, or listen on your favourite platform.

In the episode, Ferguson and Oliphant discuss the specialisms and current roles they have been recruiting for. The pair share their overall view of the current recruitment market in comms.

In addition, the comms chiefs consider candidate applications and explain how AI technology is impacting the hiring process.

They also comment on the rise in AI-created CVs and cover letters, as well as offer advice to candidates on how to approach a job interview in PR.

Separately, the best way to proactively reach potential employees is also discussed on this week’s episode.

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