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    Public Relations Stories and Strategies

    Every organization has a story people believe about it. Most leaders didn’t choose that story. They inherited it, stumbled into it, or lost control of it somewhere along the way.

    Stories and Strategies is the Public Relations podcast that changes that.

    Host Doug Downs talks with the communicators, executives, and strategists who understand that narrative isn’t a marketing function. It’s a leadership one. Each episode unpacks what actually shapes reputation, trust, and public perception at the highest levels, drawing on behavioral science, media intelligence, and the ethics that keep persuasion honest.

    This is public relations at the level serious leaders need it. Not tactics and press releases. The thinking behind why some stories win and others disappear.

    Ranked among the most listened-to public relations podcasts in the world, Stories and Strategies reaches leaders and communicators across six continents every week.

    If you are responsible for the story people believe about your organization, you cannot afford to guess. Follow Stories and Strategies wherever you listen to your public relations content.

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    Latest Episodes:
    REPLAY Accreditation vs Certification for Communications Pros Oct 24, 2026
    Show notes

    This replay comes from a conversation I had last week at PRSA ICON 26 in Orlando. Which is better accreditation? Or certification? This episode originally aired in October 2024.

    Sia Papageorgiou challenges the traditional idea of accreditation and argues that certification is the real game-changer for PR professionals. She shares insights on why the Global Communication Certification Council (GCCC) stands out with its internationally recognized standards, and why it’s crucial for communication professionals to continually update their skills to stay relevant in a rapidly changing field.

    Listen For
    2:43 Certification over Accreditation
    6:02 Ongoing Education and Accountability
    12:55 Mandatory Certification in Some Countries
    17:00 Answer to Last Episode’s Question from Guest Vince Nero

    Guest: Sia Papageorgiou, FRSA, FCSCE, SCMP
    Website | Email | X | LinkedIn
    CSCE link to training offerings

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    Send us a note about this episode. We'll reply and thank you on a future episode

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    The Knowing-Doing Gap: AI Ethics in Public Relations Oct 20, 2026
    Show notes

    There's a gap between knowing AI ethics and practicing them, and it's where reputations go to die. Research for PRSA's Board of Ethics and Professional Standards mapped it across 10 essential AI ethics competencies, from critical thinking and ethical judgment to privacy, accountability, and governance. The finding that stings most: critical thinking is both the most essential competency and one of the profession's biggest gaps. Communicators know the principles. They still fail to apply them when it counts.

    Doug caught up with researcher Marlene Neill in Orlando at PRSA ICON 2026 to dig into what that gap looks like inside real organizations, the perfect storm of pressure for speed without the training or guardrails to match. They get into why communicators are weakest at judgment when judgment is the job, what value the practitioner still provides when AI can draft the release in seconds, and the one thing a solo practitioner or small team can do Monday morning to start closing it. If AI touches your comms work, this is the episode about the part no tool can do for you.

    Listen For

    :13 The Surgical Safety Checklist: What Atul Gawande Teaches PR Pros About the Knowing-Doing Gap

    2:57 AI Ethics in Public Relations: Why Human Judgment Still Matters

    4:13 AI Hallucinations in PR: Why You Must Verify Every Output

    6:19 How AI Is Changing PR Agency Billing and Value-Based Pricing

    12:01 How to Speak Up on Ethics at Work: Giving Voice to Values


    Guest: Marlene Neill, Professor and Graduate Program Director at Baylor University (Journalism, Public Relations and New Media). Ph.D., APR, Fellow PRSA

    Email | PRSA Bio

    Doug

    Substack | Website | LinkedIn

    Subscribe to the Stories and Strategies PR podcast newsletter


    Are you a brand with a podcast that needs support? Book a meeting with Doug Downs to talk about it.

    Apply to be a guest on the podcast


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    Send us a note about this episode. We'll reply and thank you on a future episode

    Support the show


    The Hidden Rules of Workplace Emojis: What Gen Z Wants You to Know Oct 13, 2026
    Show notes

    Three out of four office workers now feel like they need to use emojis at work, according to Statista's research on workplace communication. But almost nobody stops to ask what that emoji is actually doing once it lands in an inbox, a Slack thread, or a client email.

    That's the gap Stacy Jo Dixon from Statista has been studying, and it's the gap this episode sits inside: not whether emojis belong in business, but what they're quietly signalling about generation, culture, gender, and judgment every time someone hits send.

    In this episode we work through what the data actually shows, and where it gets complicated. Why older professionals default to the thumbs up, while younger ones have developed what Stacy calls emoji literacy. And why the same emoji that reads as friendly in one country can land as an insult in another culture, and what any of this means for a brand's voice once it starts showing up in pixels instead of words. It's a more surprising conversation than the stat sheet suggests.

    Listen For

    03:49 Which emojis should you never use in the workplace?

    05:49 What is emoji literacy and why does it matter at work?

    08:10 Can the thumbs-up emoji be offensive across cultures?

    12:40 When should you use emojis with executives, bosses, or clients?

    14:13 Should companies create workplace emoji policies?


    Guest: Stacy Jo Dixon, Statista

    LinkedIn |IG | Website | Emoji usage – statistics & facts |Off the Charts Podcast (hosted by Stacy): YouTube | Off the Charts Podcast (hosted by Stacy): Spotify

    Doug Downs

    Substack | Website | LinkedIn

    Subscribe to the Stories and Strategies PR podcast newsletter

    Are you a brand with a podcast that needs support? Book a meeting with Doug Downs to talk about it.

    Apply to be a guest on the podcast


    Connect with us

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    Send us a note about this episode. We'll reply and thank you on a future episode

    Support the show


    A “Jolly” Rebranding Case Study Oct 06, 2026
    Show notes

    What do you do when the name that built your reputation suddenly makes you look stuck in the past?

    Jolly SEO was a company founded on solid SEO strategies and infrastructure.

    But “S E O?” Ugh that’s soooo 2021.

    So cofounder Greg Heilers had a dilemma. Suddenly he had a name that kinda conveyed old thinking.

    In this episode he explains the surprisingly complicated journey from Jolly SEO to a brand built for an AI-driven search world.

    Greg also explains why “SEO” began sending the wrong signal, how the company preserved the valuable “Jolly” identity while embracing a broader definition of search, and why finding the perfect domain helped settle months of debate.

    Listen For

    03:12 Why did Jolly SEO need to change its name in the age of AI search?

    05:41 How did Jolly SEO finally land on the name Jolly Search?

    09:54 Does your company name affect whether AI and LLMs recommend your brand?

    12:06 How do you know whether a rebrand has actually worked?

    16:56 What should businesses know before rebranding an established company?


    Guest: Greg Heilers, Co-Captain | Jolly Search

    Website | LinkedIn

    Doug Downs

    Substack | Website | LinkedIn

    Are you a brand with a podcast that needs support? Book a meeting with Doug Downs to talk about it.

    Apply to be a guest on the podcast


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    Send us a note about this episode. We'll reply and thank you on a future episode

    Support the show


    What it Takes to Sell Your Brand Across the Atlantic Sep 29, 2026
    Show notes

    Every brand that crosses the Atlantic faces the same unspoken question, and almost nobody asks it out loud before they've already spent the budget: should we act like ourselves, or should we act like we belong here?

    Volkswagen bet on staying unmistakably German and won over American drivers. Other brands have made the opposite bet and won too. There's no universal answer, and that's exactly what makes it a hard call to get right.

    Daisy Pack, managing director of HUNTER's London office, has spent more than two decades sitting inside that decision for American and British brands trying to win over each other's audiences. In this episode, she walks through how she actually makes the call, using a real campaign for Premier Protein that skipped the obvious American fitness playbook entirely, and explains why the right answer for a brand crossing the Atlantic in 2026 might be the opposite of what worked ten years ago.


    Listen For

    4:09 Should American brands emphasize or downplay their identity when entering the UK?

    8:13 How did Premier Protein make an American brand culturally relevant in Britain?

    14:05 Why do American and British audiences respond differently to brand storytelling?

    15:49 When can leaning into Americana actually help a brand connect with British consumers?

    19:28 What should an American brand do before launching or expanding in the UK?


    Guest: Daisy Pack, Managing Director, Hunter PR London

    IG | Website | Company LinkedIn | LinkedIn | Hunter UK LinkedIn | Email

    Doug Downs

    Substack | Website | LinkedIn

    Subscribe to the Stories and Strategies PR podcast newsletter

    Are you a brand with a podcast that needs support? Book a meeting with Doug Downs to talk about it.

    Apply to be a guest on the podcast


    Connect with us

    LinkedIn | X | Instagram | You Tube | Facebook | Threads | Bluesky | Pinterest

    Send us a note about this episode. We'll reply and thank you on a future episode

    Support the show


    World PR Forum Wants Your Say on Public Relations Rules Sep 22, 2026
    Show notes

    Take the Global Alliance Survey before October 2, 2026

    Who actually makes up the rules for public relations? Who decided what counts as good measurement, how you're supposed to structure a comms team, what you tell an executive when they ask "why does this function even exist"? Your local or national association has a voice in that, but the actual standards, the ones you're governed by and quoted to and inspired by, came out of delegate rooms in Madrid, Melbourne, and Stockholm. The US sends delegates to those rooms.

    You don't get a personal say in what they bring back.

    Well, NOW you do. You… personally!!

    The Global Alliance has opened 15 questions to the entire profession, not just the delegates, asking what society actually has the right to expect from a communication professional. This episode looks at what's being asked, why regions like Africa and Asia are answering in force while North America stays quiet, and what happens to the next set of rules if you skip your turn to answer.

    Listen For

    5:02 Why Should Communication Professionals Care About the Abuja Declaration?

    7:30 Should Public Relations Professionals Be Licensed or Regulated?

    9:44 What Should Society Expect From a Professional Communicator?

    14:29 How Will the Abuja Research Prevent Regional Bias From Shaping the Results?

    17:20 What Happens After the Abuja Declaration Is Created?

    Guest: Adrian Cropley, Centre for Strategic Communications Excellence,

    Website | LinkedIn | Adrian’s Podcast A View from the Top | CSCE Website

    Doug Downs

    Substack | Website | LinkedIn

    Subscribe to the Stories and Strategies PR podcast newsletter

    Are you a brand with a podcast that needs support? Book a meeting with Doug Downs to talk about it.

    Apply to be a guest on the podcast

    Connect with us

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    Send us a note about this episode. We'll reply and thank you on a future episode

    Support the show


    Cognitive Surrender and What it Means to Public Relations Sep 15, 2026
    Show notes

    For decades, PR professionals have tried to influence what people think or how they think it.

    AI may be changing something even more fundamental: whether people do much of that thinking themselves.

    Researchers call it “Cognitive Surrender.” The tendency to accept an AI-generated answer without really scrutinizing it. And if AI increasingly sits between your message and your audience, or starts doing the thinking for communicators themselves, the implications for trust, persuasion and professional judgment could be enormous.

    Listen For

    4:30 What Is Cognitive Surrender and How Did Researchers Test It?
    7:44 Why Did People Accept Wrong AI Answers 80% of the Time?
    9:53 Can Cognitive Surrender Weaken Critical Thinking Skills?
    12:47 What Happens When AI Sits Between PR Pros and the Public?
    15:14 Why Should Communicators Think First and Prompt Second?


    Guest: Dr Steven Shaw, PhD, King’s College London and Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

    Website | LinkedIn | Google Scholar page

    Doug

    Substack | Website | LinkedIn

    Subscribe to the Stories and Strategies PR podcast newsletter

    Are you a brand with a podcast that needs support? Book a meeting with Doug Downs to talk about it.

    Apply to be a guest on the podcast


    Connect with us

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    Send us a note about this episode. We'll reply and thank you on a future episode

    Support the show


    Turn Small Talk Over Drinks into Your Best Public Relations Tool Sep 08, 2026
    Show notes

    Every PR person knows the moment: you're holding a coffee or a glass of wine at a networking event, the small talk has dried up, and the person standing next to you outranks you by a lot. Shawn Spitaleri has spent years collecting the kind of beverage trivia that fixes exactly that problem, real, verifiable stories about why your coffee tastes the way it does, why tea sparked a geopolitical crisis, and why every champagne bottle opens with the same number of twists no matter who made it.

    This episode is a toolkit, not a lecture. Shawn walks through coffee, tea, champagne, wine, and beer, pulling out the one fact from each that's actually worth repeating out loud, the kind that gets a genuine reaction instead of a polite nod. If you've ever needed something better than "so, how about this weather" to say to a stranger holding the same drink as you, this one's for you.

    Listen For

    4:17 Why Did Governments Try to Ban Coffee?

    6:08 How Did Britain’s Love of Tea Fuel the Opium Trade and Corporate Espionage?

    9:41 Did Dom Pérignon Really Invent Champagne?

    12:16 What Does the World’s Oldest Beer Recipe Reveal About Ancient Drinking Culture?

    17:29 How Did Franklin Roosevelt Help Popularize the Dirty Martini?

    Guest: Shawn Spitaleri, The Architect, Obscura Meridian Co

    Distillate Podcast | Website

    Doug

    Substack | Website | LinkedIn

    Subscribe to the Stories and Strategies PR podcast newsletter

    Are you a brand with a podcast that needs support? Book a meeting with Doug Downs to talk about it.

    Apply to be a guest on the podcast


    Connect with us

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    Send us a note about this episode. We'll reply and thank you on a future episode

    Support the show


    Public Relations in Egypt Sep 01, 2026
    Show notes

    Most people don’t experience a country… they experience its reputation.

    Long before a flight is booked or a business deal is considered, a story has already landed in your mind. A headline. A search result. A clip that went viral. A warning someone repeated with total confidence. And once that story sticks, it starts to feel like the place itself.

    So, let’s test it. When you picture Egypt, what shows up first? Pyramids. Pharaohs. Ancient tombs. Maybe a biblical story, or maybe a recent news headline? Egypt is one of the most famous places on earth, but that fame can flatten it into a single image, a single idea, a single shadow.

    In this episode, nation branding and strategic communications leader Lamia Kamel unpacks how reputations are formed and how they can be changed, especially now that discovery runs through search, social, and AI. If you’ve ever realized you “knew” a place before you actually understood it, this conversation might rewire the way you think about perception.


    Listen For:

    04:28 What Misconceptions Do Travelers Have About Egypt?

    05:37 What Is the Real Egypt Beyond Pyramids and Stereotypes?

    08:10 How Should Egypt Use Digital Marketing to Attract Travelers?

    11:43 Which Social Media Platforms Are Most Popular in Egypt?

    17:49 How Is PR in Egypt Different From Western PR?

    Guest: Lamia Kamel, Managing Director of CC Plus

    Website | Email | LinkedIn

    Doug

    Substack | Website | LinkedIn

    Are you a brand with a podcast that needs support? Book a meeting with Doug Downs to talk about it.

    Apply to be a guest on the podcast


    Connect with us

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    Request a transcript of this episode

    Send us a note about this episode. We'll reply and thank you on a future episode

    Support the show


    The Mentorship Myths Holding PR Professionals Back Aug 25, 2026
    Show notes

    Most of us are waiting for mentorship to look a certain way. A senior person who takes us under their wing. A scheduled coffee every two weeks. A defined relationship with a clear beginning and a clear end.

    And while we are waiting for that version of mentorship to show up, the real thing is happening all around us and we’re missing it entirely. But the way mentorship actually works in the public relations profession is different to almost everything you would naturally believe.

    Listen For

    3:35 What Are the Five Biggest Myths About Mentorship?

    5:35 Why Should Mentorship Work Both Ways?

    7:36 Can ChatGPT or AI Replace a Human Mentor?

    13:42 What Mentorship Advice Can Stay With You for Life?

    16:36 How Do You Find the Right Mentor in Public Relations?


    Guests:

    Amy Thurlow

    Website | LinkedIn

    Colleen Killingsworth

    LinkedIn

    Book Rethinking the Table on Amazon

    Doug

    Substack | Website | LinkedIn

    Are you a brand with a podcast that needs support? Book a meeting with Doug Downs to talk about it.

    Apply to be a guest on the podcast


    Connect with us

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    Send us a note about this episode. We'll reply and thank you on a future episode

    Support the show


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