In this episode of The PR Week , Steve Barrett and Frank Washkuch sit down with Ron Berkowitz, founder and CEO of Berk Communications, to discuss his career in sports and entertainment PR, from working for George Steinbrenner to an era when athletes are also global influencers. Plus, the biggest marketing and communications news of the week, from Shamrock Capital’s acquisition of the Penta Group to WPP’s latest quarterly earnings and ICR CEO Tom Ryan’s decision to step down . AI Deciphered is ba...
Aug 14, 2025•49 min•Ep. 253
The latest guest on The PR Week podcast is Sarah Jenkins, head of creative brand initiatives at Grindr and an alum of agencies including The Romans and Freuds. She talks about using creativity and brand initiatives to foster community, how Grindr’s audience challenges brands to be creative, and marketing faster than the speed of what’s trending. Also on the agenda: the biggest marketing and communications news of the week, from Lollapalooza’s immersive brand activations , IPG’s significant job c...
Aug 07, 2025•41 min•Ep. 252
The latest guest on The PR Week podcast is Cheryl Overton, founder of Cheryl Overton Communications and an alum of agencies including Egami Group, Zeno Group, PMK*BNC and Edelman. She talks about the growing appreciation for earned media and its versatility, why brands are wise to focus on consumers over the age of 50 and the changing nature of DEI at corporations. Overton also discusses the biggest marketing and communications news of the week, from more personnel changes at Edelman , Astronome...
Jul 31, 2025•43 min•Ep. 251
On this edition of The PR Week , we're thrilled to welcome JJ Carter, who took the helm as CEO of FleishmanHillard last October. Join us as he discusses the agency's evolution, particularly in light of Omnicom Group's pending acquisition of rival Interpublic Group . Plus, we'll dive into the week's biggest marketing and communications news, including IPG’s Q2 earnings , Real Chemistry’s latest acquisition and Astronomer’s viral crisis . Plus: The 2025 PRWeek US Power List , which features the CE...
Jul 24, 2025•49 min•Ep. 250
Pam Jenkins recently left Weber Shandwick , where she spent the last two decades, to join nonprofit Shatterproof as its CEO. The organization works to reduce the burden of substance use disorder in the U.S. by increasing access to treatment, expanding education and driving public policy change. Jenkins talks about her previous work with Shatterproof at Weber and her plans for the nonprofit. Plus, the biggest marketing and communications news of the week, such as Omnicom’s poor PR financial resul...
Jul 17, 2025•48 min•Ep. 249
The latest guest on The PR Week podcast is PAN president and CEO Philip Nardone . He talks about the evolution of tech PR and media over the last three decades, as well as recent changes at major agencies. Also on the agenda is the departure of Sally Susman from Pfizer , CEO Mike Doyle leaving Ketchum , WPP’s profit warning and a spotlight on the brands responding to tragic flooding in Texas. AI Deciphered is back—live in New York City this November 13th.Join leaders from brands, agencies, and p...
Jul 10, 2025•46 min•Ep. 248
Before you fire up the grill and crack open an adult beverage for the Independence Day long weekend, hear from the latest guest on The PR Week podcast, Luz Corona, U.S. editor of Campaign. She talks about her first trip to the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, which was full of insights but also a few controversies. Other topics on the agenda: layoffs at We. Communications , Pam Jenkins’ new role , a new CCO at Gap Inc . and reflections on this year’s Pride in PR program . AI De...
Jul 03, 2025•47 min•Ep. 247
The guest on the latest edition of The PR Week podcast is the global CEO of Allison, Jonathan Heit. He talks about the Cannes International Festival of Creativity, where Allison’s holding company, Stagwell, held Sports Beach and other activations. Also on the agenda: Allison’s collaboration with other agencies for Go Daddy and what clients are looking for halfway through 2025. Plus, the biggest marketing and communications news of the week, including an upset in the New York City mayoral race’s ...
Jun 26, 2025•34 min•Ep. 246
This is truly a moment of immense transformation for the comms industry — “and Cannes just accelerates that.” So believes Omnicom PR Group CEO Chris Foster. In this conversation with PRWeek VP and editorial director Steve Barrett, Foster highlights what he deems to be wake-up calls for the sector. Of course, there was much that energized him during his week on the Croisette, including some particularly timely awards submissions from the PR industry that epitomized the proactive solutions toward ...
Jun 25, 2025•24 min
On this special edition of The PR Week podcast , VP, editorial director, Steve Barrett talks with FleishmanHillard chief inclusion and impact officer Adrianne Smith about the growth of Inkwell Beach at Cannes and the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the creative industry. Smith reflects on her journey to make the festival more inclusive, the challenges and misconceptions about DEI, and the role of FleishmanHillard in promoting an inclusive culture. AI Deciphered is back—live in ...
Jun 19, 2025•13 min•Ep. 245
PRWeek VP and editorial director Steve Barrett caught up with PR Lions jury chair and Weber Shandwick chief creative officer Tom Beckman in Cannes this week for a wide-ranging discussion. Beckman talks about standout work and other trends from this year’s Cannes Lions in the latest edition of The PR Week podcast. AI Deciphered is back—live in New York City this November 13th.Join leaders from brands, agencies, and platforms for a future-focused conversation on how AI is transforming media, marke...
Jun 18, 2025•20 min•Ep. 244
On this week’s first live-from-Cannes special edition of The PR Week, PRWeek editorial director Steve Barrett interviews Stagwell CEO Mark Penn, who discusses the Stagwell Sport Beach at Cannes, the role of sports in marketing and the positioning of Stagwell as a challenger in the holding company landscape. Penn highlights the importance of collaboration among creative agencies and shares insights on political communication. Listen to their conversation and stay tuned for more exclusive intervie...
Jun 17, 2025•16 min•Ep. 243
“You build a brand. You earn a reputation.” Just one of a myriad pearls of wisdom Ray Day, executive chair at Allison Worldwide and vice chair at Stagwell Group, shared with PRWeek’s Gideon Fidelzeid during this podcast. Reputation has always been among every company’s most important assets and every brand communicator’s most vital responsibilities. The associated challenges, though, have never been more daunting due to the unprecedented amount of uncertainty we all face today — societally, econ...
Jun 12, 2025•30 min
This week’s guest on The PR Week podcast is Josh Earnest , former White House communications director and EVP of communications and advertising at United Airlines. He talks about a wide range of topics and issues, such as his priorities leading earned and paid media at a major international carrier, the challenges of messaging for critical topics like airline safety and issues at Newark Liberty International Airport and next week’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Plus the bigg...
Jun 12, 2025•48 min•Ep. 242
Maybe the biggest news to come out of PRWeek’s Agency Business Report 2025 was that Real Chemistry supplanted Edelman as the No. 1 PR firm in the U.S. by revenue for 2024 . Real Chemistry CEO Shankar Narayanan talks about that honor, and what the disposal of specialist shop Swoop will mean for his firm, on the latest edition of The PR Week podcast . He also previews Real Chemistry’s presence at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, talks about how nearly all of his firm’s work i...
Jun 05, 2025•44 min•Ep. 241
This week’s episode of The PR Week podcast comes to you from PRWeek’s Women of Distinction event at The Lighthouse at Pier 61 in New York City. PRWeek’s associate news editor Diana Bradley and reporter Julia Walker discuss this year’s Women of Distinction and Women to Watch honorees . Additionally, they give highlights from a panel held with comms execs from Wendy’s, McDonald’s and Merck on coping with RTO mandates as moms and a talk with Baked by Melissa CEO and cofounder Melissa Ben-Ishay . Th...
May 29, 2025•28 min•Ep. 240
PRWeek toasted the best international work last week at the PRWeek Global Awards in London. Here’s a special behind-the-scenes look at the show with Andy Pharoah, VP of corporate affairs and sustainability at Mars and chair of judges for the awards program. Weber Shandwick was the big winner, taking home six awards from the Jumeirah Carlton Tower, in the heart of Knightsbridge, London. Plus, here’s a recap of the biggest marketing and communications news of the week, including Adam Collins stepp...
May 20, 2025•27 min•Ep. 239
The latest guest on The PR Week podcast is Dan Kramer, chief executive of global shareholder services at Equiniti. On the agenda: Kramer talks about his company’s recent acquisition of earned media platform Notified, working with PR and investor relations clients that report up through different parts of the business and how companies like his are using AI. Plus, PRWeek senior reporter Jess Ruderman with the biggest marketing and communications news of the week, including a major agency people m...
May 15, 2025•23 min•Ep. 238
The latest guest on The PR Week — and not just any week, but Agency Business Report week — is Doug Thornell, CEO of SKDK, a firm that was up 26% in 2025 by revenue earned. He talks about the current complicated operating environment, which includes giving advice to clients about issues such as President Donald Trump’s promise to institute a 100% tariff on foreign-made movies. Plus, the biggest marketing and communications news of the week, from the just-convened Papal Conclave to Jack Leslie’s r...
May 08, 2025•45 min•Ep. 237
The latest guest on The PR Week podcast is busy putting out a shingle for her own consultancy, Pam Goldstein Advisory. Pam Goldstein previously had a long tenure at McDonald’s and before that worked as a corporate communications and crisis wrangler at Edelman. She talks about the type of professional it takes to handle a corporate crisis and the kinds of work her firm will focus on. Plus, the biggest marketing and communications news of the week, from the resignation of Columbia University’s top...
May 01, 2025•39 min•Ep. 236
Before joining Bully Pulpit International, Jeff Nussbaum was a speechwriter for former President Joe Biden and helped to direct speechwriting and messaging operations at four Democratic National Conventions. He’s also the author of the book “ Undelivered ,” which takes a deep dive into addresses that never saw the light of day from historical figures including former Presidents Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon. Nussbaum joins The PR Week to talk about how he gets into the voice of a corporate...
Apr 24, 2025•48 min•Ep. 235
Steve Lombardo recently returned to the agency world at the helm of strategic communications and public affairs shop Adfero. His range of experience includes stops at Koch Industries, Edelman-owned StrategyOne and the presidential campaigns of former President George HW Bush and Mitt Romney. He talks about what he sees as the most important news coming out of Washington, DC, and the biggest marketing and communications news of the week, including Publicis Groupe and Omnicom Group earnings and th...
Apr 17, 2025•42 min•Ep. 234
When a crisis hits, communicators are the ones working behind the scenes to fix the problem and rescue a brand’s reputation. This episode of The PR Week comes to you live from the 2025 PRWeek Crisis Comms Conference , where leaders from media, corporate communications and public affairs shared what it takes to stay steady under pressure. You’ll hear from Judy Smith , whose career inspired Scandal ; NFL SVP Katie Hill on managing a live emergency ; and former Boeing and White House communications...
Apr 10, 2025•56 min•Ep. 233
AJ Jones II is back full-time in Washington, DC, with a new job leading communications for Monumental Sports & Entertainment , the owner of the NBA’s Washington Wizards, the NHL’s Washington Capitals, the WNBA’s Washington Mystics and other sports brands. Jones talks about making the transition to the sports world from Starbucks, where he was EVP and chief corporate affairs officer and previously EVP and chief communications and public affairs officer . There’s no shortage of other news comi...
Apr 03, 2025•42 min•Ep. 232
Dive into the crucial topic of men's mental health and social connection in this episode featuring Laura Bremer, US president of Citizen Relations and Nate Checketts, co-founder of performance apparel brand Rhone, champion for mental fitness. Drawing from the 2024 Citizen Connections Report , this critical conversation explores the growing desire for deeper social connections, particularly amongst men. Laura and Nate will share more about their mental health advocacy work, authentic and actionab...
Mar 27, 2025•37 min
Who starts a PR firm in the middle of a pandemic? Steve Hirsch and his business partner, Evan Leatherwood, did just that , when they launched Hirsch Leatherwood in 2021 at the corner of reputation management and media and content strategy. He joins the latest edition of The PR Week podcast to discuss the agency’s founding principles, what types of employees it hires and how Hirsch sees the legacy media landscape. Plus: the biggest marketing and communications news of the week, such as Golin and ...
Mar 27, 2025•46 min•Ep. 231
The eighth annual PRWeek/Cision industry report recently deployed. PRWeek's Gideon Fidelzeid speaks with Cision’s Katie Tod to dissect key data and highlight what it means for communicators’ day-to-day function. Since 2017, industry pros have been the main source of a Cision/PRWeek annual report that captures the current state of the comms industry and function. This year’s iteration produced some noteworthy findings. Among numerous obstacles they face, communicators identified “a focus that is ...
Mar 26, 2025•27 min
PR leaders from Microsoft, We. Communications, and the USC Center for PR unpack their latest research on AI’s impact on the industry. The We. Communications and USC Annenberg study Energized by AI reveals that AI is making communicators feel more valued, while USC’s Relevance Report, produced with Microsoft, showcases how AI is reshaping the way we work, create, and connect. AI Deciphered is back—live in New York City this November 13th.Join leaders from brands, agencies, and platforms for a fut...
Mar 20, 2025•28 min
The biggest day in the industry got even bigger this year. The PRWeek Awards U.S. kicked off bright and early on Wall Street last Thursday, with PRWeek ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange alongside prominent industry executives. Later, the stars of the industry were out at the PRWeek Awards U.S ., which honored the best work — good to see you again, Michael Cera! — to top agencies, students and organizations. The latest edition of The PR Week takes you behind the scenes at th...
Mar 17, 2025•50 min•Ep. 230
Next up on The PR Week : Dawn Beauparlant, CEO for North America at WE Communications. Recorded just one day before The PR Week Awards , Beauparlant talks about what she’s most looking forward to during the big night. She also previews some upcoming agency news and talks about topics including tariffs and the suddenly uncertain economy. Also on this edition of the podcast: Sandy Hook Promise’s latest touching campaign , the race to buy TikTok and big changes taking place at Unilever . AI Deciphe...
Mar 13, 2025•33 min•Ep. 229
