Stories and Strategies with Curzon Public Relations

Stories and Strategies
  • 5.0 (14)
  • MARKETING
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Stories and Strategies is the podcast for public relations and communications professionals who want substance, not slogans. Hosted by Doug Downs and Farzana Baduel, the show is released every Tuesday and breaks down what’s actually shaping modern PR: the changing media landscape, measurement that goes beyond dashboards, leadership realities, behavioral science, and the ethical principles that keep persuasion honest. We also keep it transparent. Our download numbers are public on OpenSource3, showing we average about 10,000 downloads a month, helping make Stories and Strategies one of the most listened-to PR podcasts globally. If you’re responsible for the story people believe about your organization, you can’t afford to guess. Follow Stories and Strategies wherever you listen.

  1. The 7 Reputation Drivers Every Leader Should Know

    4D AGO

    The 7 Reputation Drivers Every Leader Should Know

    In today’s world, PR leaders need to build and protect their brand’s reputation in an AI-shaped, polarized world, where owned media matters more than ever.  Reputation is no longer a soft metric but an economic multiplier and an insurance policy. From the difference between brand and reputation to the growing tension between character and competence, this episode explains what actually moves corporate standing up or down in today’s environment. We also share why owned media now plays a disproportionate role in shaping not just earned coverage, but AI-generated search results and stakeholder perception.  Listen For 3:45 What Is the Real Difference Between Brand and Reputation? 5:07 What Are the Seven Drivers That Shape Reputation? 6:28 How Has AI Changed Third Party Advocacy and Media Influence? 9:58 Do Character Crises Damage Reputation More Than Competence Failures? 16:13 Why Is Reputation a Business Tool Rather Than Just an Image Strategy? Guest: Stephen Hahn-Griffiths, RepTrak Website | LinkedIn     Doug Substack | Website | LinkedIn Farzana 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 LinkedIn | X | Instagram | You Tube | Facebook | Threads | Bluesky | Pinterest Request a transcript of this episode Support the show

    23 min
  2. Public Relations in the Age of Insularity

    FEB 24

    Public Relations in the Age of Insularity

    Trust used to flow upward. To experts, institutions, and authority.  Then it shifted to “people like me.”  Now even that circle is tightening.  The 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer reveals a growing insularity: smaller tribes, hardened perspectives, and a widening mass-class divide driven by whether people believe the system works for them.  Persuasion is shifting to trust brokerage, and what communicators, leaders, and businesses can do when trust itself has become the battleground. Listen For 3:10 Skip the opening story and go right to the interview with Tim Weber 3:47 What does it mean that we’ve moved from echo chambers to “turtle shells” 7:21 Is polarization economic, cultural, technological—or all three? 12:35 How can companies blunt fear and become true trust brokers? 20:13 Will AI reinforce our biases and deepen our personal echo chambers? Guest: Tim Weber, Managing Director & EMEA Head of Editorial, Edelman LinkedIn | Instagram | Bio | Website 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer   Doug Substack | Website | LinkedIn Farzana 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 LinkedIn | X | Instagram | You Tube | Facebook | Threads | Bluesky | Pinterest Request a transcript of this episode Support the show

    22 min
  3. Why Brands are Too Serious… and Paying the Price

    FEB 17

    Why Brands are Too Serious… and Paying the Price

    Can a joke really sell a brand? Or save it from sameness? Most campaigns sound the same because they’re afraid to sound wrong. Safe language, serious faces, purpose-heavy messages that all blur together.  And yet one of the most successful creative agencies in North America has built its reputation by doing the opposite. Zulu Alpha Kilo lives by a simple motto… Fight Sameness… and they do it with humor, sarcasm, and a willingness to say the quiet part out loud. Why does that work? Why does making people laugh end up being the fastest way to earn trust?  Why does honesty often land better as a joke than a lecture.  Listen For 3:01 Fast-forward to the start of the interview 5:19 Check out an example of a funny (sarcastic) ad by Zulu Alpha Kilo 5:36 Why does ad satire feel so personal to marketers? 9:11 What tiny detail annoyed people in that absurd ad?   Guest: Michael Siegers, Zulu Alpha Kilo  Website | Instagram Doug Substack | Website | LinkedIn  Farzana 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 LinkedIn | X | Instagram | You Tube | Facebook | Threads | Bluesky | Pinterest Request a transcript of this episode Support the show

    21 min
  4. When Your Message is Consistent, But Your Audience Isn’t

    FEB 10

    When Your Message is Consistent, But Your Audience Isn’t

    You can be the same person across every channel.  Your social media accounts. Your YouTube. Your newsletter. Your blog. The same principles. The same voice. Often even the same message.  And many of the people following you on LinkedIn are the same people who see you on Instagram, hear you on a podcast, or read your newsletter. Yet those same people can understand you, trust you, and remember you very differently simply because they encounter you in a different place. Not because you changed. Because they did. They arrive with different expectations. Different attention. Different patience. The channel shapes what they notice, what they believe, and what stays with them, even when the words don’t change at all.  In this episode, we explore how platforms shape perception, why fractured identities are now the norm, and what that means for communicators who already know better but are running out of time and headspace. Listen For 4:30 How do you tailor one piece of content for different platforms? 6:04 Is it better to master one channel or be on many? 7:49 Can AI help create content that still feels human? 12:21 What’s the right way to use emojis on LinkedIn? 16:35 Are we choosing content or are algorithms choosing for us?   Guest: Molly Demellier, Sounds Profitable Email | Website | Sounds Profitable LinkedIn Doug Substack | Website | LinkedIn Farzana 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 LinkedIn | X | Instagram | You Tube | Facebook | Threads | Bluesky | Pinterest Request a transcript of this episode Support the show

    20 min
  5. The New LinkedIn: How Reach Actually Works now

    FEB 3

    The New LinkedIn: How Reach Actually Works now

    You’re using LinkedIn wrong Not because you’re not smart… you are.  It’s because you’re using yesterday’s LinkedIn.  The platform is changing fast. The feed has changed, and the rules for reach have changed with it.  This episode shows you what’s different now, and how to adapt without turning into a “content person.”   Listen For 3:29 What happens when you hit publish on LinkedIn? 7:21 What makes a post perform well—and why does so much content flop? 10:23 Should leaders be posting at all, and if so, how? 14:49 Why did Alicia double down on LinkedIn as a career focus? 20:42 Why are professionals afraid of being visible on LinkedIn? Guest: Alicia Teltz, The Hype Department LinkedIn | Website    Doug Substack | Website | LinkedIn Farzana 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 LinkedIn | X | Instagram | You Tube | Facebook | Threads | Bluesky | Pinterest Request a transcript of this episode Support the show

    24 min
  6. Is Silence Still Strategic When the World’s on Fire?

    JAN 30

    Is Silence Still Strategic When the World’s on Fire?

    When the streets erupt, the headlines explode, and public pressure hits boiling point… can business leaders still afford to say nothing?   In this episode tackle the growing tension between corporate responsibility and political risk. From a CEO letter in Minnesota addressing immigration-fueled violence to Keir Starmer’s high-stakes diplomacy in China, we ask: when the world demands clarity, is strategic ambiguity still a safe PR move?  Listen For 2:08 What is safety in numbers for corporate protest 5:03 Is strategic ambiguity a smart way to stay neutral 7:12 What is the Business and Democracy Commission 9:48 How do leaders speak when policy moves faster than people 12:09 Can the UK and EU trade with China and India without angering the US The Week Unspun is a weekly livestream every Friday at 10am ET/3pm BT. Check it out on our YouTube Channel or via this LinkedIn channel Folgate Advisors Curzon Public Relations Website Stories and Strategies Website Request a transcript of this livestream   Support the show

    14 min
  7. How Personal Branding is Changing… and What You Need to Do Now

    JAN 27

    How Personal Branding is Changing… and What You Need to Do Now

    Personal branding is changing in real time. The first impression is no longer a handshake or a conversation. It is a clip you did not choose, a post someone else shared, a comment you left, or a quote that gets passed around without context. What actually builds trust across today’s platforms? It’s the different channels and how they shape different versions of you. Consistency matters more than polish. Algorithms and AI search now “interpret” your reputation.  Today you need to build a personal brand that holds up when you’re not in the room.   Listen For :22 What if people meet your story before they meet you? 4:00 How does media reshape your message? 5:23 How do you stay consistent across platforms? 8:40 How do algorithms impact your brand? 14:34 Why does personal branding really matter? Guest: Liz Brooks, Interview Valet Website   Doug Substack | Website | LinkedIn Farzana 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 LinkedIn | X | Instagram | You Tube | Facebook | Threads | Bluesky | Pinterest Request a transcript of this episode Support the show

    17 min
  8. The Mark Carney Mic Drop in Davos

    JAN 23

    The Mark Carney Mic Drop in Davos

    Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stood up in Davos and didn’t waste words. He gave a speech that cut through the noise.  The room stood. The world noticed.  He said, “If you're not at the table, you're on the menu.”  People replayed that line like it was a lifeline.  This episode of The Week Unspun comes straight from the snowy peaks of Davos, but the questions are sharp and wide-reaching.  Can speeches still move people to action?  Can we trust the Edelman Trust Barometer, or has its credibility fractured like the world it measures?  And as the World Economic Forum eyes cities like Detroit and Dublin, what happens when the name “Davos” no longer fits the map?  Listen For :51 What made Mark Carney’s Davos speech go viral? 6:54 Why do some PR pros hate the Edelman Trust Barometer? 9:38 Are we living in a “retreater” era of trust and communication? 12:40 Should Davos be moved to Detroit or Dublin? 18:15 Is short-form, flashy content reshaping public opinion?  The Week Unspun is a weekly livestream every Friday at 10am ET/3pm BT. Check it out on our YouTube Channel or via this LinkedIn channel Folgate Advisors Curzon Public Relations Website Stories and Strategies Website Request a transcript of this livestream Support the show

    26 min
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About

Stories and Strategies is the podcast for public relations and communications professionals who want substance, not slogans. Hosted by Doug Downs and Farzana Baduel, the show is released every Tuesday and breaks down what’s actually shaping modern PR: the changing media landscape, measurement that goes beyond dashboards, leadership realities, behavioral science, and the ethical principles that keep persuasion honest. We also keep it transparent. Our download numbers are public on OpenSource3, showing we average about 10,000 downloads a month, helping make Stories and Strategies one of the most listened-to PR podcasts globally. If you’re responsible for the story people believe about your organization, you can’t afford to guess. Follow Stories and Strategies wherever you listen.

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