Tomorrow's Business Today
How IR took over PR
Three times in in the last three weeks I’ve headed to a meeting with a CEO with zero enthusiasm – indeed with a sense of trepidation about just how boring this was about to be.
My past experience in each case was limited to what the CEOs are like on quarterly results calls.
It is tempting to say they sound like robots, but that’s unfair to robots, who are getting much better.
Three times I nearly cancelled but such politeness as I can muster won out.
Each time, the meetings turned out to be great.
The CEO was engaged and engaging. Up for an argument. Funny, even, and plainly passionate about what they do.
The quarterly results calls are a drag, a chore for them to get through as much as for us to endure, they admitted.
I raised this with the comms teams after the lively chats and asked why this was so.
They all said the same thing: a power shift took place during Covid, and the tedious IR function overtook the PR department.
Companies were so worried about saying the wrong thing that very strict messages were scripted and CEOs pretty much ordered not to deviate from them, even if those messages were plainly inadequate answers to obvious questions.
The PR folk say they are trying to wrestle back control, trying to let the perfectly interesting CEO be herself.
To persuade them that hacks aren’t necessarily out to get them and that we are not City analysts in the first place.
At the moment, they are losing.
The fight back needs to step up a gear.
Press release of the day
Half of women in tech are likely to quit the industry before they age of 35 says this from Nigel Frank International.
It’s a fairly damning report into gender inequality in a sector famous for just that.
Men, of course, don’t believe a word of it.
CEO James Lloyd-Townshend said: “I’d love to know what percentage of the men who feel there’s no gender inequality in their organisation have reached that conclusion through actual conversations with the women in their workplace.”
Stories that will keep rolling
1) What will the budget mean for your money? BBC
2) Apple hit with £1.5 billion fine for music streaming. FT
3) Body Shop admits breaking employment law. Independent
4) Any tax cuts will need to be “undone” after election. Sky News
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