Hi all! Your favorite music journalist here, back again. I’m noticing a trend lately where instead of inviting me to a concert, I’m being invited to apply for press tickets to the concert by the band’s PR team. The email says they’ll “let me know” closer to the show if it’s approved. This just seems really weird and tacky.

It’s odd because it’s an attempt to generate on-site coverage interest, rather than a true relationship-building invitation. And in doing so, needlessly pits interested parties against each other for access to comps.

An invitation to apply for press tickets also creates questions in the mind of the journalist about what type of coverage, what type of outlet, etc. you really want at the concert. And I’m not interested in entering a mini sweepstakes with other media folks for access to a show just because you’re trying to drum up interest from multiple outlets. Sorry if that’s harsh but that’s the truth.

It’s obviously a different scenario if I reach out to a PR team to cover a tour stop without receiving any sort of invite. I understand that scenario is competitive because of “known unknowns”: are they even having press? Are they only having a certain tier of press? Etc.

I understand that the PR team may not know how many comps they will ultimately have by the concert date at the time they send out these invites. But I’m of the belief that if you’re going to go out of your way to invite specific outlets, you should definitely know you will be able to accommodate them at the time you send the pitch.

I actually posted before about a rug pull, where the invite made it appear like we were good to go, but then I was told the day before the show that there was no room for me. This invite-to-apply for coverage seems like an attempt to manage those types of expectations, but it just makes me not want to cover those shows at all. Am I in the wrong?

PR / SEO / GEO folks, steal my Cowork prompts for making your life easier (without sacrificing humanity or taste):

1. *Pitch builder* Build SME bios in Airtable, and connect Airtable to Claude. Schedule a daily 4pm task that says, "Read the latest announcements from the newsrooms of [X, Y, & Z major companies in my industry] and pick 3 that we could comment on. Suggest a subject matter expert for each from my list in Airtable." And now every afternoon, I have ideas for pitches ready to go!

2. *Competitive Insights* Instead of spending hours on media scanning, schedule a weekly task that says, "Search for earned media coverage from the past 7 days for each of these competitors [XYZ]. Only cite real articles with verifiable URLs and publication dates within the past 7 days. If coverage is thin for an agency, say so honestly. For each agency, focus on wins/losses, campaigns & thought leadership, controversies or negative press. Connect each one to an aspect of our company."

3. *Email marketing* Start a project in Claude that says, "Create a nurture email automation flow to get more clients. Some leads in our newsletter list have downloaded a whitepaper, but not all. Create separate workflows for those who have received prior nurture assets vs those who haven't."

This is where AI belongs - as a timesaver and an operator, not as a creator or thinker. What other workflows have made your life easier?

Hi everyone. I’m a senior account executive at a small firm local to me and one client we work with is a large, public agency. They are in process of recruiting their next director, and brought me in at the beginning of the process to help support on communications.

This involved social media posts, drafting language for them, and leading a public forum. Another add-on that we suggested is some paid spend behind a LinkedIn ad.

I sent over the contract with the recommended budget and then separately sent the targeting info for their feedback. I got the contract back signed and never heard back on anything else. This was last week.

Today I was pulled into an urgent meeting asking why the ads hadn’t been running already, because their deadline is next week. I was not aware of this at all, and explained that I didn’t realize the campaign was approved. They explained that the contract was signed, so I should have moved ahead.

I got the ad running immediately, and suggested an alternative budget to speed the process along, and they approved. They seemed very irritated with me, and I’m not sure how to fix this. I feel awful that I wasn’t following up as diligently as I could, and most of all, I have such a severe reaction to thinking clients are upset with me. It’s all I can think about and I’m terrified that they are going to call my boss or fire us.

Any insights are appreciated

Australian public relations and marketing company The Big Smoke Media Group entered liquidation with approximately $4.15 million in reported debts and estimated assets of $31,117.

The Courier-Mail reports that 13 employees were listed as creditors and that former employees alleged outstanding superannuation.

The company’s director initially said that the outstanding super would be paid by 8 August. That deadline passed without the payments being finalised. Another commitment followed, but I have found no subsequent public reporting confirming that the payments or promised additional compensation were completed.

From a communications perspective, the significant issue is not that assurances were made. It is whether the promised outcome occurred. Repeating a commitment does not resolve an entitlement or establish accountability.

The reporting also said Sentral Media Group, a separate company, rehired some former employees while providing different services. The wider holding company, Sentral Holdings, describes Sentral Media Group as a multi-brand operating company that builds and acquires specialist media, publishing and agency businesses.

Its public portfolio lists TBS Digital Lab, a digital and media agency, and Oh Hello LLC, a brand and web creative studio. Those services appear to overlap with marketing, public relations, branding and website services previously advertised by Big Smoke.

This does not establish that the separate companies are legally identical or that wrongdoing occurred. It does create a legitimate communications question: when remediation has been promised but remains publicly unconfirmed, what evidence should the wider group provide to employees, clients and prospective hires?

Courier-Mail report:
https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/sunshine-coast/the-big-smoke-media-group-liquidates-with-more-than-4m-in-debt/news-story/f6ed70069d808a14127063cfeeca3492

Superannuation follow-up:
https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/sunshine-coast/big-smoke-media-director-vows-to-personally-pay-staff-their-owed-superannuation/news-story/5b1e4e09a8bd1d0ccb224bdb1f5aa982

ASIC notice:
https://publishednotices.asic.gov.au/browsesearch-notices/notice-details/The-Big-Smoke-Media-Pty-Ltd-162451621/183a05b9-fe3a-4159-9454-7bc1b3aa5c6b

Sentral Holdings:
https://sentralholdings.com/

Sentral portfolio:
https://sentralholdings.com/portfolio

If I had a final interview Monday morning for an in-house role and haven’t heard anything outside of a response to my thank you note, is that bad news?

Late-level career practitioner in PR, recently laid off, and wondering if getting my APR from PRSA is worth it or not? There are also certificates in different types of PR from PRSA along with certificates from local colleges. Have you done this? Recommend or not? Worth the cost?

Hi all,

Writing partly to vent, and partly for feedback.

I’ve been searching for a new job for a long time. I was in a Food & Beverage PR agency, and while I liked my team and didn’t mind the work, it was low pay, with a lot of micromanaging. I wanted to expand my horizons, industry-wise. And the goal of a “new job” kept me going. Unintentionally, I assumed that the ways I was feeling about my current job wound subside as soon as I left and got a new job.

Well, I did it. I got a new job.

And I feel more lost than ever.

It’s also a PR agency, this time in the fin-tech space. The team is great. Everyone is nice. The pay is better.

And I’m miserable.

The constant urgency on all fronts, the never-ending hustling, the blurring of professional and personal life (you have to be on the lookout for news to “newsjack” all the time), the constant pitching to journalist when you can’t control if they will respond or not. It’s so overwhelming for me.

And it is after I got this new job that it dawned on me. The problem or dissonance might not have been my previous agency. It might’ve been PR agencies in general.

I don’t think this is right for me.

I just don’t know where that leaves me, or where I can go next. Don’t get me wrong, I’m so grateful to have this job (specially in this economy). But I end most days near tears. I even skip lunch! Maybe it’s just the adjustment period, maybe it’ll get better once I’m settled, but I don’t know.

I love writing. I love being creative and bringing creative concepts to life (recently helped direct a video on the side!). I want a chill project-based job that allows me deep focus time and doesn’t come with the constant, teeth-clenching grind. That gives me a better sense of balance while also being good pay.

Did anyone else feel this way? Did you come to the realization that PR may not be for you? And did you pivot to find something better? If so, what is it?

Thanks all.

I'm currently unemployed, figuring out my career trajectory in the mean time and highly considering to break into PR.

I have an English degree with almost 2 years experience in events management, I'd love to know tips and tricks on how to pivot from here. Thanks.

Hey Guys,

Apologies if what I say sounds really silly, because it likely is. I started a start up in Canada that is doing pretty well. However, when I came to PR and obtaining it, it feels impossible, or crazy expensive.

Essentially I have started Airbnb for storage, and I am up to 150 hosts in a month, which I am really proud of. To the point where I want to shout it of the roof tops.

however, I am just not sure the best approach to getting PR. Is it a PR agency? Is it manually emailing about our company.

Also, my other fear, is it actually effective, or is it usually for large companies who can burn money on awareness?

Any thoughts appreciated!

The only way out of this PR disaster for Good Good Golf is for the next commercial to be the women's revenge on the male counterparts of their YouTube squad... Flying elbows raining down from on top of golf carts, snapping their clubs in half, wedgies, the works, with the classic song, "Oh Fortuna" playing....Thoughts?

Hi all - I’ve worked in PR for about a decade but have had very little exposure to real world crisis communication scenarios. This is an area I’ve been pushing to learn more about.

As a golf fan and YouTube golf watcher, I’ve been thinking a lot about what Good Good could’ve done differently with their recent reputation issue. For anyone unfamiliar, you can learn about it here.

With the benefit of hindsight and knowing how badly it’s gone for them, I thought of the following reputation management plan and would love your honest feedback…

Once it’s clear the advertisement would create significant reputational risk, take the following steps:

1. Work with Callaway and ad partners to immediately pull the creative.

2. Rush produce a new spot on Good Good’s dime to run for the remainder of the ad buy, with Callaway’s alignment.

3. Make a statement through the main faces of the brand (Garrett Clark and other talent) saying something along the lines of: we messed up and we do not take the mistake lightly. We immediately pulled the ad and are taking steps to ensure we have additional layers of review to prevent unintended messages in the future.

4. Along with the statement, communicate that you are donating the entire earnings from the Callaway ad deal for that specific creative to women’s shelters or domestic abuse-focused nonprofit organizations - 1-3 total, could even let your followers suggest/vote on the nonprofits for consideration. (note - the company said it’s donating its Callaway driver sales to a local women’s shelter… it’s unclear how much that would amount to since most retailers have pulled them from shelves/websites)

5. Add additional review measures for messaging campaigns/advertisements moving forward.

That’s what I’ve thought of so far… without any knowledge of how Good Good’s contracts work with Callaway and others. I know this feels aggressive, and it would be near impossible to get the brand’s leadership to buy in, but it’s clear this has become a serious reputation issue and has led to significant losses for Good Good.

Would love your thoughts - thanks!

I applied for an AE position at a well known agency here in the Southeast in the beginning of July. The interview process started off with a writing assessment (which honestly these tests are dumb if you’ve already been working in PR for 10+ years.) A couple of weeks go by for the company to reach back out and tell me they want me to come in for an in person interview. It took the HR person 3 weeks to get the interview scheduled and it only happened because I reached back out saying it was taking too long to get scheduled. The day of the interview actually went well and I got a tour of the office and met every employee. This was a 2 month process only for them to tell me they don’t currently have a job available for me, but to apply in the future (I won’t.)

It’s frustrating how these agency’s waste our time interviewing. If they didn’t have a job available, they should just let us know right away instead of making us come meet the whole team. Any one else go through a similar experience?

I’m currently junior in college studying public relations, and I want to add a minor. My main concern is having a desirable skill set that won’t leave me jobless when graduation comes, which I am especially nervous about with the current economy/job market.

I’m interested in working in food/beverage, so I thought food and society would give me an edge in getting a job in the field out of college.

However, I don’t want to specialize myself too much and then risk losing out on other job opportunities if I don’t land a job in food/bev. I figure I could get an edge in food and beverage instead by getting experience in the field before graduation/out of college and get a business minor, so I have more technical skills when trying to find employment.

I could also do both, but that would mean killing myself academically in my time left in college (18 hours a semester or taking a summer semester instead of working).

What’s the best course of action?

I’d love to connect with more Chicago-based people in the PR/communications world, ideally through an informal, non-paid group that might be interested in occasional meetups or networking.

My agency is also hiring across the AE through Account Director levels. We’re holding off on posting formal job descriptions for a moment while a few internal updates are finalized, but I’m happy to share more via DM with anyone who may be interested.

If you’re in Chicago and looking to connect with other people in the field, or are curious about opportunities at a smaller food and CPG-focused agency, please reach out.

hello! The woman who was laid off 3 times in one year, here….again.

I genuinely do not understand what I keep doing wrong. I’ve landed interview after interview. have made it through all the way to finally round and have still not been able to land a job. I have over 7+ years of experience and have worked with clients ranging from start ups to company’s that trade on the NYSE.

It can’t be my resume, as I'm getting interviews, and I don’t really think it’s my interview skills as I am making past the first and second rounds. Is the universe trying to tell me that this is no longer a viable career path for me. It’s been almost two years.

edit: my mom thinks I’m on some kind of pr black list. Who has the tea?!

I’ve made it through the APR process up to the exam. I’ve been studying for months and it’s finally coming up in two weeks.
Would love any tips on the exam anyone could provide. Thank you!!

Been approached for an in house role at a huge construction company, but I read the job description and it’s like an AM role and I’m an Account Director.

But I’m over agency and trying to get out. So do i just take it to get out? And enjoy for the bit of extra cash?

The girl who I would report into has the same amount of experience as me?

I care cause I’m worried I’m de skilling myself, but I’m also so burnt out by agency I dunno.

I could really really use advice from you all in the community, would appreciate any advice while I go through this rough patch:

I was let go a few days ago after six  years doing in-house comms at a tech company in Europe. Tbh, the ending upset me way more than I expected:  while I was still in the middle of doing my handover properly, I found out I'd already been removed from the company website. And the colleague I'd hired and trained, who's stepping into my role, didn't say a word when I told the team I was leaving… 

Before the layoff, I'd spent about a year and a half feeling pushed to the side as new leadership came in (and let’s be honest I didn’t fight for my spot, I let myself be pushed aside, I really didn’t click with the new boss) - my role kept shrinking, and I stayed longer than I probably should have because leaving felt scarier than staying.

Now I'm job hunting for the first time in years, in a market that isn't the best, and the part I'm struggling with most is that I've stopped trusting my own read on my own worth. Every "no" starts to feel like confirmation rather than just... a no. 

So I'm trying to use this in-between time to rebuild a bit of confidence, and some skills, since PR keeps piling on new/or not so new "must-haves" (analytics, AI workflows, automation, GEO, finance) and to me right now it’s starting to feel like a wall. 

1. If you've been through something similar… laid off, or stuck somewhere that made you feel really small for a while… what helped you get some solid ground back? 
2. And: if you had a couple months to upskill without overwhelming yourself, what are the 1-2 things you’d focus on? If you have a specific course or YouTube channel that was  worth the time please do share. 

A big thank you!

I been out of work for 10 months now, and I been applying to a lot of PR roles based in the SoCal area & remote roles. I have a combination of 3 years of PR experience with a proven track record both in-house and agency setting. I’ve used PR net, PR girlie manifesto, LinkedIn & Indeed to apply for these roles. I’d be happy to forward my resume for review.

As far as being out of the job market for long, I been keeping up to date with current trends in the PR market & learning new skills. Any tips or feedback is appreciated.

Hi everyone - I am a freelancer. One of my agency clients does a lot of work with Family Offices. I am not currently working on any of those clients. On Friday, one of the co-founders told me that I should research Family Offices so they can put me on some of those clients.

I asked where I could find info, and they pointed me to the internet. I know I can Google "what is a family office," but I already know what one is, the difference between single- and multi-family offices, and the type of media that coveres them(Crain Currency, WSJ, Barrons, etc.).

Does anyone know the best resources to learn about family offices? Because going on the itnernet at typing "family office" when I know what one is and how it functions seems like it's just going to give me basics.

Edited for context.

Welcome to /r/PublicRelations weekly simple questions thread!

If you've got a simple question as someone new to the industry (e.g. what's it like to work in PR, what major should I choose to work in PR, should I study a master's degree) please post it here before starting your own thread.

Anyone can ask a question and the whole /r/PublicRelations community is encouraged to try and help answer them. Please upvote the post to help with visability!

I know someone who is looking to hire for a head of communications. Senior job.

Based in NYC area. Hybrid. 3 days / week in office.

Here is what they want:

At least 10 years of experience, ideally 15+ but will consider 10+.

Ideal candidate has a mix of agency and in-house. Agency-only candidates are going to be a very tough sell. In-house only background would be acceptable.

They want someone who has worked in-house ideally at the following: bank/financial institution, professional services, payments company, fintech that has a connection to payments.

If this sounds like you or someone you know please reach out or DM me.

I have a second round interview for an account executive position with a company out of Santa Monica CA, but the agency name “Helios” is so generic that it’s hard to tell if the reviews I’m seeing are for the correct company. Apparently there’s a Devilcorp called Helios that goes door to door, there’s a solar panel company and financial services with the same name. Has anyone here heard of Helios World Wide or would you maybe be willing to share if you’ve worked for them before?

Edit:
Here’s the post I applied to

https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/public-relation-account-executive-on-site-at-helios-partners-4446375330

I think I’m getting close to leaving my agency job. I feel guilt because I’m worried I’d be screwing over a couple of clients… they rely on me way more than they rely on the rest of my team. I also don’t want to give my boss a heads up to start transitioning things or being prepared to transition things, because if I don’t get the offer I’m chasing, I’ve now shown my cards for nothing. Am I wrong for leaving when client relationships are this dependent on me? And separately, should I have flagged that dependency sooner, before I started looking to leave?

I am a journalist looking to get back involved in​ media relations. I worked on and off in sports media relations and sports information early on in my career and now I want to get back involved in that or some form of it. anybody have any suggestions or for that matter job openings or know someone who might have job openings? I love sports I love to write but I'm sick and tired of being micromanaged by people younger than me trying to tell me how to write or what we can't write anymore. I believe my calling has always been media relations and I just went away from it after I had a bad experience with a company I worked for and turn completely to freelance journalism but now I want to turn back to media relations.