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 strategic communications 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 and strategic communications 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 strategic communications for your organization, you cannot afford to guess. Follow Stories and Strategies wherever you listen to your public relations content.

  1. 1d ago

    Master the Rules of Public Relations, Then Find Your White Space

    What makes you different can be your biggest risk or your biggest asset, and the order you do things in decides which. That’s the heart of the message Gaby Natale brought to the closing keynote at PRSA ICON: pioneer, embrace your uniqueness, break barriers, and redefine what’s possible.   Gaby doesn’t treat it as a slogan. She’s built a career on it, from a young girl in La Plata, Argentina, to entrepreneur, television, and publishing in the United States.   Her challenge to PR professionals is a pointed one: you spend your days making other people visible, so why does it feel selfish when it’s your turn?    Listen For 04:28 Why Is Your Uniqueness Your Greatest Competitive Advantage? 06:51 How Can You Stand Out in an AI-Driven Job Market? 09:52 What Are the Three Essential Ingredients for Career Growth? 14:03 How Can You Build a Personal Brand Without Feeling Like You're Bragging? 17:05 Why Should You Master the Rules Before You Break Them? Guest: Gaby Natale, President of AGANAR Media Website | Facebook | YouTube | 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. 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

    Master the Rules of Public Relations, Then Find Your White Space
  2. Nov 3

    AI is Making the Oldest Skill in Public Relations Worth More

    Recorded Live at PRSA ICON in Orlando, October 2026.  AI is changing the rules of public relations, but is it actually making media relations more valuable than ever? Jennifer Bisbee explores why earned media, human relationships, and third-party credibility are becoming increasingly important in an AI-driven world.  Jennifer explains why journalism and an expanded idea of “media” is still a powerful currency of trust, how AI search engines are reshaping brand visibility, and why a well-placed story can carry more weight than anything a company says about itself.  Doug and Jennifer dig into AI-generated pitches, shrinking newsrooms, crisis communications, the advantages of boutique versus large PR agencies, and what happens when journalists get the story wrong. Along the way, Jennifer shares why AI can sharpen PR strategy but cannot replace human judgment, authentic storytelling, or the fundamentals of building relationships.    Listen For 04:52 Why Does Earned Media Matter More Than Ever in the Age of AI? 07:52 How Can Your Media Pitch Stand Out When AI Agents Are Gatekeepers? 09:37 How Can AI Improve Crisis Communications and Real-Time Reputation Monitoring? 10:56 Should You Hire a Boutique PR Firm or a Large International Agency? 14:28 What Should You Do When a Journalist Gets Your Story Wrong? Guest: Jennifer Bisbee, APR, Fellow PRSA, Bisbee and Company Website | Email | LinkedIn | PRConsultants Group The PRSA article for Jennnifer’s talk Link to Trailer for Jennifer’s Film “What Hugh Knew”   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. 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

    AI is Making the Oldest Skill in Public Relations Worth More
  3. Oct 27

    In Public Relations, Different is Better than Better

    Take Sally’s FREE Fascinate Test Recorded at PRSA ICON 2026 in Orlando, bestselling author Sally Hogshead explains why being different is more valuable than being better, why playing it safe may be the riskiest strategy of all, and why authenticity alone won't make you memorable.  Sally shares what she shared in her keynote address at ICON. Surprising examples of brands that turned weaknesses into competitive advantages, along with practical advice for getting bold ideas past cautious decisionmakers. The question isn't whether you're good at what you do. It's whether anyone can tell you apart from everyone else. Listen For 04:55 Can AI Really Make Your Brand Fascinating, or Is Something Human Missing? 05:48 Why Is Being Different More Valuable Than Being Better? 08:06 How Can PR Professionals Sell Bold Ideas to Risk-Averse Decision-Makers? 10:16 Why Isn't Being Authentic Enough to Make Your Brand Stand Out? 11:43 Can Introverts Be Just as Fascinating as Extroverts? Guest: Sally Hogshead Personal web site | How to Fascinate | About Sally | Email | LinkedIn | YouTube 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. 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

    In Public Relations, Different is Better than Better
  4. Oct 20

    The Knowing-Doing Gap: AI Ethics in Public Relations

    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 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

    The Knowing-Doing Gap: AI Ethics in Public Relations
  5. Oct 13

    The Hidden Rules of Workplace Emojis: What Gen Z Wants You to Know

    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 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

    The Hidden Rules of Workplace Emojis: What Gen Z Wants You to Know
  6. Oct 6

    A “Jolly” Rebranding Case Study

    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 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

    A “Jolly” Rebranding Case Study
  7. Sep 29

    What it Takes to Sell Your Brand Across the Atlantic

    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

    What it Takes to Sell Your Brand Across the Atlantic
5
out of 5
18 Ratings

About

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 strategic communications 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 and strategic communications 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 strategic communications for your organization, you cannot afford to guess. Follow Stories and Strategies wherever you listen to your public relations content.

More From Stories and Strategies

You Might Also Like