PRmoment Podcast

With 100 Days of 2026  to go, Warren Johnson founder of W Communications and PRmoment Podcast host Ben Smit discuss 2026 so far, and look ahead to Q4 and 2027.

The PRmoment podcast is produced in association with the Markettiers Network

Warren Johnson's verdict on 2026 so far is blunt: "Indies up, networks down." 

He argues independents have had a strong year while the big networks continue their "seemingly endless merging a...

This edition of the PRmoment News Review, hosted by Ben Smith with Angie Moxham and Mark Borkowski, worked through four stories that each turned on the same question: what communications can and cannot fix.

The Sussexes opened the show, and both guests pushed back hard on the week's dominant narrative. Borkowski said he felt "incredibly sorry" for the couple's comms team and rejected the theory that their PR is incompetent — t...

Nigel Farage’s latest scandal and Andy Burnham’s six-week report card dominate this PRmoment News Review, as Ben Smith quizzes Angie Moxham and Mark Borkowski on what the fallout means for UK politics and political communications.

Here are some quotes from this week's show:

"We woke up to the classic investigating journalist scam of trapping Nigel Farage and his two closest aides in a pub garden in Clacton-on-...

This PRmoment News Review opens with Ben Smith framing three big themes of the week: the return of Harry and Meghan to the UK, Meta’s eye‑watering $18 billion settlement with dozens of US states, and an uneasy communications environment around Russia, Ukraine and NATO. 

Here are some highlights from this week's episode:

“Harry is built for purpose, he’s built for service, and being stuck out under an orange tre...

Mark Borkowski returns to the PRmoment Podcast’s news review with Ben Smith to unpack how the UK’s recent wildfires expose not just a climate crisis, but a communications one. 

The pair start from a shared frustration: despite record temperatures and terrifying imagery of homes engulfed in flames, too much coverage still skirts around climate change and instead reaches for more comfortable or distracting narratives.

...

The August edition of the PRmoment podcast’s UK pitches, mergers and acquisitions round‑up is steeped in cautious‑no‑more optimism. Host Ben Smith is joined, as ever, by AAR lead consultant and PCB Partners deal‑maker Andrew Bloch, who declares that the market mood has decisively shifted. 

Don't forget to get your tickets for the Creative Moment Awards, coming up in September.

Bloch reports that the usual summer slowdown n...

Matt Neale’s return to the PRmoment Podcast is framed by one big question: what does scale, data and AI actually mean for the future of PR – and where does Golin Ketchum sit in that evolving landscape?

Beore we start the interview with Matt, one quick plug, The Creative Moment Awards always sell out, partly because it's an intimate venue, so if you want to come, best to get your ticket quick!

Here are a few quotes from Be...

This episode of the PRmoment News Review frames Andy Burnham not just as a skilled communicator, but as a potential reset figure in UK political communications, operating in a structurally hostile environment.

Ben Smith positions the discussion around a pivotal political moment – Burnham’s ascent to national leadership – and asks whether he is “more than a better communicator than Keir Starmer.” Angie M...

The episode of the PRmoment Podcast titled “PR Pitch Hacks” features host Ben Smith in conversation with agency Hannah Sharratt of Axe & Saw, exploring how PR pitching currently works and how it should evolve. 

Ben opens by noting that pitching, alongside timesheets and AVE, is one of the most emotive issues in PR, with recent years marked by excessively long shortlists, reverse pitch auctions and widespread gho...

In this episode of the PRmoment Podcast’s weekly news review, Ben Smith is joined by Angie Moxon and Mark Borkowski for a wide‑ranging discussion spanning British politics, football, FIFA’s reputation, and Wimbledon.

The conversation opens with what Angie has dubbed “the politics of farce”, focusing on Nigel Farage, the Reform party, Count Binface, and the Clacton by‑election. Angie predicts Count Binface cou...

In this episode of the PRmoment Podcast News Review, Ben Smith steers a sharp conversation with Mark Borkowski and Angie Moxham about one big idea: expectation management as a core comms discipline, using England at the World Cup and Andy Burnham as parallel case studies.

"We've been in a melee of misery with Starmer… now in comes Burnham, coming up on the left wing, dribbling the ball of hope alongside Kane and his team." &n...

This episode of the PRmoment Podcast, hosted by Ben Smith with guest Andrew Bloch, reviews June 2026 UK PR pitch wins and M&A activity in the PR and wider marketing sector.

Market sentiment and pitch environment

Bloch describes the UK PR pitch market as buoyant and optimistic at the mid‑year point. Agencies are reporting record months, strong new‑business pipelines, and clients releasing healthy campaign budgets on top of retaine...

The episode explores whether the PR jobs market is in crisis, how AI and economics are reshaping recruitment, and what candidates and employers should do next.

Ben Smith frames the discussion by noting a “complex scene” where firms are still recruiting but “lots of really good people” are looking for work, with visible redundancies, especially in holding companies.

Is the PR jobs market in crisis?

Recru...

This episode distils the six most important financial KPIs PR agency leaders should track, with Rachael Marshall, founder of specialist accountancy firm Magic Digits.

Market context

Rachael describes the current PR agency landscape as highly competitive and uneven: some agencies are “absolutely flying” while others are under real strain from rising costs and longer times to land business.

“It’s been...

In the latest PRmoment Podcast news review, host Ben Smith sits down with PR heavyweights Mark Borkowski and Angie Moxham to dissect a packed agenda covering political downfalls, tech trillionaires, and sports geopolitics. Before diving in, Smith drops a crucial reminder to secure tickets for the upcoming PR in AI Masterclass, featuring an incredible lineup available both face-to-face and virtually.

The Politics of War and a Leaders...

In the May 2026 edition of the PRmoment Podcast, host Ben Smith sits down with new business maestro Andrew Bloch (AAR, PCB Partners) to dissect a shifting UK communications landscape. The overarching theme of the month highlights a widening divide between agencies riding massive waves of momentum and those experiencing localized, procurement-driven hesitation.

Before diving into the market data, Ben shares two critical industry diar...

In this episode of the PRmoment Podcast, Ben Smith and Will Hart, CEO of PRmoment Leaders, engage in a timely debate surrounding the structural integration of public relations and artificial intelligence. 

Moving decisively past the initial "experimental" phase where practitioners simply played with basic prompts, the industry has rapidly arrived at a critical juncture. Today's leaders are forced to confront foundational organi...

In this week's edition of the News Review on the PRmoment podcast, host Ben Smith, is joined by industry heavyweights Mark Borkowski and Angie Moxham to dissect one of the most significant political crisis management events of the year: 

Nicola Sturgeon’s high-stakes sit-down interview with Laura Kuenssberg on the BBC. Following her estranged husband Peter Murrell’s recent guilty plea to embezzling over £400,000 fro...

On this PRmoment podcast today we're chatting about the Nils Leonardgate.

Is comparing earned media creativity and paid media creativity pointless?

I normally have this debate internally in my own head when I watch the annual PR/ad creative bun fight at Cannes but it's come a bit early this year following Uncommon founder Nils Leonard's latest activation of his "let's start a fight' strategy where he says: "The PR industry should be ...