What the hell should you do about them? Ignoring them might be tempting given the year we’ve had, but of course most PRs do want to actually carry on with their jobs and get their clients’ messages out. So the question comes down to: live or virtual.

In the case of Paul Smith, it’s been both. Yesterday, I attended the brand’s SS21 press day in person, my first live press day in ages. It was like the good old (pre-Covid) days – flowers, music, great photography, pressed juices, Paul Smith-labelled water and the SS21 clothes on mannequins. Bliss! I felt like I was back doing my job again, at long last, and I’m not sure much can beat the usefulness of getting to reconnect with Georgia Morrison on the press team.

But, as Georgia pointed out, not all journalists are comfortable coming into town at the moment. That’s understandable – so for those who feel that way, the team has arranged virtual press calls. The team also realised that having an actual object to look at is a great advantage, so they’ve posted out SS21 press packs and copies of old pictures taken by Paul on holidays past, to inspire and remind us that the world is a beautiful place.

As a journalist, this is all much appreciated and very helpful. But I realise as a PR, it takes a lot of budget and time to have a multi-pronged approach. If it means getting your message across to more people, though, then virtual plus live might be the way to go.