Stories and Strategies with Curzon Public Relations

PR really is at a crossroads… we’ve got old playbooks and new players coming in who want to change the rules. 

In its report Mind the Gap, USC’s Center for Public Relations reveals sharp divides between Gen Z and older professionals on everything from AI and hybrid work to media influence and corporate purpose.  

While Boomers and Gen X cling to the belief that human creativity will always be irreplaceable, Gen Z is charging ahead, o...

Ayeni Adekunle Samuel argues that Africa is often misunderstood or reduced to oversimplified stereotypes by global brands, agencies, and even tech platforms.  

Despite Africa’s complexity, diversity, and economic importance, key decisions — including PR, marketing, and tech strategies — are still shaped in places like New York and London, often without African expertise or context. 

Ayeni shares his personal journey as a Nigerian ent...

Why is the PR industry still having the same tired conversation? Year after year, event after event… while the world moves on without us? 

We talk about getting a seat at the table, then sit quietly when we do. 

We debate metrics like we haven’t had decades to solve them. 

We celebrate awards for campaigns that often say nothing and change even less.

We hold events that are same panel conversations… different year.

Somewhere along the w...

What does it take to rebrand an entire nation? Not just a logo or slogan—but the name itself. Gökhan Yücel helped lead the campaign to officially shift the international name from Turkey to Türkiye.  

It’s a move that goes far beyond semantics—touching diplomacy, identity, and global perception. Gökhan pulls back the curtain on how such a monumental change has been communicated to the world and why it matters more than most of us th...

What if the most powerful tool in public relations isn’t a pitch deck or media list, but your own story? In this episode, we’re joined by technologist-turned-storytelling-evangelist William Welser IV, founder of Lotic, a platform that uses artificial intelligence to help people uncover the data hidden inside their own narrative. From his days building satellites to his unexpected pivot into behavioral science, Bill shares why he be...

What if the expert quote you just read in a news article wasn’t written by a human — but by AI? 

That’s already happening.  

A PR tool called Synapse is selling agencies the ability to fire off automated expert pitches to journalists, complete with research, personal-sounding anecdotes, and polished email copy — all with minimal human input. It promises one person can do the work of five and crank out twenty media pitches an hour.  

B...

In today’s media landscape, journalists are drowning in pitches while PR professionals scramble for attention—often missing the mark entirely. But what if the problem isn’t the story, but the way it’s being told—and the tools we’re using to tell it? 

In this episode, we sit down with Brett Farmiloe, the revivalist behind Help a Reporter Out (HARO), to unpack why this once-iconic platform fell off the radar, how he brought it back to...

What if everything you’ve been taught about pricing your work—tracking time, logging hours, justifying effort—was wrong? What if the real value of what you do isn't how long it takes, but what impact it has? 

In a world where generative AI can draft press releases in seconds and churn out strategy decks before your coffee cools, PR professionals face a crossroads: race to the bottom by charging less for faster work—or redefine ...

What if the smartest pitch you ever sent didn’t sound smart at all—but sounded real? 

In a world where inboxes are flooded with AI-polished messages, Lauren Passell makes a strong case for going the other way: writing like a human, listening like a fan, and leading with a story—not a sales hook. This episode unpacks how to stand out by showing up differently, not louder.

Listen For

6:44 Authenticity: Real or Just a Buzzword?
...

Your reputation is your most valuable asset — but also the most fragile. 

In today’s world, a single tweet, leaked email, or bad headline can trigger a crisis faster than you can hit "refresh." But reputation isn’t just about avoiding scandal — it’s about building trust, culture, and resilience before anything goes wrong. 

In this episode, we speak with Emma Woollcott, one of the UK’s top legal experts in reputation protect...

Is your media diet making you smarter? Or just more stubborn? 

In this episode, we sit down with senior communicator and former journalist Mark Burey to explore how the collapse of shared truth is reshaping public relations. From the erosion of local journalism to the rise of AI-generated content. What does media literacy really looks like today? And what role do PR professionals play in rebuilding trust? 

Listen For

7:33 What media l...

Are public relations and marketing two distinct disciplines—or is PR simply one piece of the broader marketing puzzle? It’s a question that stirs up strong opinions in boardrooms, agencies, and comms teams alike. 

Some argue PR is strategic storytelling aimed at building relationships, while marketing is focused on driving sales. Others say that in today’s world of integrated messaging, the separation is outdated.

In this episode, we...

Most PR strategies still focus on the big three: social, legacy media, and search. But while everyone’s watching the headlines, the real conversations—the ones shaping trust, behavior, and brand reputation—are happening in people’s ears. Podcasts aren’t just a trend or another content format. They’re a strategic intelligence channel, and if you’re not monitoring them, you’re missing critical signals.

 In this episode of Stories and ...

What does public relations look like in a country where radio is still growing, social media still exploding, and communication reaches from rural villages to global platforms?  

In this episode, we take a closer look at Zambia — a nation with a vibrant, evolving PR landscape shaped by both tradition and innovation.  

Irene Lungu is one of Zambia’s leading voices in public relations and a board member of the Global Alliance for Publi...

Employee engagement is evolving — and the old assumptions no longer hold. Today, workers want more than a paycheck. They want growth, flexibility, and to feel like their voices matter. In this episode, we unpack surprising new research on what really drives engagement, retention, and belonging inside organizations. Olivia Fajardo joins us to explain why internal communications has become mission critical — and how companies can mov...

More Americans are turning down the volume on domestic news — and turning up British voices instead. From BBC to The Guardian, outlets across the Atlantic are reshaping how U.S. audiences see their own country. 

Why is this happening? And what does it say about trust, tone, and the global conversation? 

Listen For

3:48 British Media’s Rising Credibility in the U.S.

7:23 Could BBC Influence U.S. Culture?

12:29 Feminism, TikTok, and the T...

Feeling stuck or stressed at work? You might just need to GROW your way out.
 
Executive coach Sarah Waddington shares the power and practicality of the GROW model — Goal, Reality, Options, Way forward — in transforming workplace performance, especially within high-pressure environments like PR. 

Sarah breaks down how this deceptively simple coaching framework fosters self-awareness, reduces stress, builds resilience, and he...

Reputation is often treated like an invisible asset—vital but fragile. And while we insure everything from homes to art collections, very few think to protect their name. 

In this episode, we speak to PR pioneer Mark Borkowski about a bold new product: crisis insurance for individuals. It’s not just an idea—it’s a rethinking of how we prepare for the worst-case scenario in a world where reputation can be destroyed with just one soci...

What makes a workplace culture truly thrive—especially in the pressure-cooker world of creative agencies? 

Can you REALLY be tough on the work but kind to your people without compromise?

Jo Carr, co-founder of Hope and Glory and President of Women in PR breaks down the complexities of workplace culture, empathy-driven leadership, and how to create spaces where people—and their diverse lives—can flourish. 

From crafting policies that a...