PR news this week, with thanks to Early Morning Media 

Industry

Zuckerberg calls for global rules on internet standards
Mark Zuckerberg said regulators and governments should play a more active role in controlling internet content. In an op-ed published in the Washington Post, Facebook's chief said the responsibility for monitoring harmful content is too great for firms alone. He called for a "common global framework" for new laws in four areas: "Harmful content, election integrity, privacy and data portability." An editorial in The Observer suggested repeated calls for social media firms to do more to police the online world only hands them more power to monitor users. The paper’s Kenan Malik said: “It is not that we should not have rules and regulations. It is, rather, that the starting point must be about empowering users rather than either tech companies or the state.” Elsewhere, Simon Duke, the Times’ technology business editor, explained why he believes that Zuckerberg’s pledge to clean up his social network should be taken at face value.
Washington Post   Financial Times   The Observer   The Times

Meme ban could hit SMEs
Elite Business examined the European Union Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market that was passed by the EU last month and what it means for UK SMEs. Some fear that the directive could make it harder for companies to market themselves. “This could cause problems for the social media industry because memes and GIFs have historically been such an easy way to – for want of a better term – go viral,” said Andy Barr, owner of 10 Yetis Digital. “[And] now content that teams create could get blocked for copyright issues under the watchful eye of these new upload filters that will have to spring into action despite the fact that they may not actually breach any rules if the leniency with GIFs and memes is to be believed.”
Elite Business

PROs express mixed feelings about tech’s future
The USC Annenberg Center for Public Relations published its latest Global Communications Report, revealing mixed views among PR professionals regarding how technology is affecting the communications landscape. Sixty-one percent of those quizzed believe that technology will cause the average consumer to become more engaged; however, the same percentage also think this engagement will be driven by misinformation. As a result, 74% of respondents said that innovations in technology will result in a society that’s even more polarized in the future than it is today.
O'Dwyer's

Marketing recovery pushes WPP up
Analysts at Deutsche Bank forecasted that advertising and promotional spend among the top global advertisers will stabilise and could even accelerate in 2019 – and that WPP is ideally placed to benefit. Analyst Chris Collett said that expectations for the company are currently “so low” that even meeting its current guidance would lift its shares.
The Daily Telegraph

Avenir Global acquires UK communications firm Hanover
Montreal-based Avenir Global acquired Top 10 UK PR consultancy Hanover. The move is part of a strategic plan to build a powerhouse of specialist communications companies, the Canadian firm said, adding that the new acquisition builds on its recent buy of another London-based healthcare creative agency Cherry.
Global Banking and Finance Review

Arcadia tries MHP on for size
MHP Communications signed a short-term PR contract with Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia Group. A team led by Peter Hewer and Oliver Hughes will work on a one-off project basis with the aim of helping Sir Philip manage the restructuring of his retail empire.
The Times

India’s leading PR agencies
Digital Vidya, official marketing training partner in India for Google and Microsoft, looked at some of the country’s leading PR agencies – including Genesis Burson-Marsteller, Waggener Edstrom, MSLGROUP India, Ketchum Sampark, and PR Pundit.
Digital Vidya

Campaigns

Ralph Lauren ad campaign stars same-sex couple for first time
Ralph Lauren unveiled a new advertising campaign that features a same-sex couple - the first in the brands' 52-year history to do so. The Family Is Who You Love campaign features a diverse range of families including a single-parent family, a family that spans multiple generations, and a gay couple, Helena Tejedor and Cecile Winckler. Jonathan Bottomley, the fashion group’s chief marketing officer, said: “We live in a world where the meaning of family is bigger, broader and more personal than it has ever been before. We believe that family is one of the most positive forces and powerful unifiers for all of us today”.
The Independent

Virgin to diversify figureheads
Virgin Atlantic is to replace the traditional flying woman painted on its planes with new figureheads including a black man, an Asian woman and a gay man, saying the move represented its ambition for gender and diversity balance in the workplace. The firm pledged to achieve an equal gender balance in its leadership roles, and 12% black, Asian and minority ethnic group representation across the company by 2022.
The Guardian

Reputational risk

Sainsbury's spoofed over alleged plastics inaction
Campaign group Greenpeace released a YouTube video mocking Sainsbury’s over its plastics policy. The film shows “Polly Ethlylene”, purportedly the supermarket group’s head of public relations, dismiss concerns about microplastic pollution of the sea with the words: “The plastic that is in our waterways is often so small that its barely visible to the naked eye. Do you believe in things you can’t see?” In a statement, Greenpeace said: “While no major retailer is doing enough, some are starting to take action. But Sainsbury’s is saying little and doing even less. Check out its plastic policy - it couldn’t care less”. In response, the company noted that ”For Sainsbury’s branded products, 67% of the plastic that we use is widely recyclable and 100% will be widely recyclable packaging by 2025. We have ambitious targets to continue to reduce plastic across our product range”.
MRW

And finally…

Price’s daughter not pudding up with custard
Katie Price raised a chortle amongst her Instagram followers on Mother’s Day, after posting a video showing her four-year-old daughter spitting out the zero-calorie custard her mum was promoting for the Skinny Food Co.
The Sun

This briefing has been prepared by Early Morning Media.  If you are interested in a customised bespoke news briefing for you or your client across any vertical, please contact Charles.Webster@earlymorningmedia.co.uk