INDEPENDENT PR & COMMUNICATIONS PRACTICE
COMMUNICATION THAT HOLDS TOGETHER.
I help organisations plan and deliver PR and communications, find what’s holding existing PR programmes back, and prepare for reputational risks and difficult situations.
15 years in communications. Still asking what the brief leaves out.
Straight to the Point
If you have a PR or communications challenge in mind, here's the kind of work I take on.
Plan or improve a campaign or launch
Planning a launch or trying to improve a campaign already underway? I can review the story, evidence and audiences, help strengthen the plan, and support agreed parts of delivery.Plan a launch or strengthen a live campaign, from story and evidence to practical delivery.
Design and deliver a communications programme
I develop PR and corporate communications programmes around clear objectives, credible messages and the audiences that matter. I can also support agreed parts of delivery, working with your team or agency.Develop a PR or communications programme with clear objectives, credible messages and delivery support.
Make better use of your communications
Your organisation may already have valuable research, expertise or stories that aren't reaching the right audiences. I can find those opportunities, develop stronger media stories and content, and help improve how they're identified and used.Turn overlooked research, expertise and stories into stronger media opportunities and content.
Improve visibility and PR readiness
If you want a stronger presence in your sector, I can help identify worthwhile media stories, prepare spokespeople and plan targeted outreach. We can also check whether your PR materials and processes are ready for the work you want to do.Find media opportunities, prepare spokespeople and check whether you're ready for greater visibility.
Prepare for reputational pressure
I help teams test realistic crisis and information-risk scenarios, strengthen decision-making and prepare response materials. If an issue is already active, I can provide an initial communications consultation to assess priorities and consider next steps.Test crisis scenarios, strengthen response plans and assess priorities when an issue develops.
Check how AI services describe you
I test selected AI answers for accuracy and see whether your organisation appears in relevant category questions. I compare the findings with available public evidence and identify improvements worth making.Check how selected AI tools describe your organisation and whether they mention it in relevant industry questions.
Don't see your situation here? Tell me what you're working on. We'll work out whether I can help and what a sensible first step would be.
AREAS OF PRACTICE
Explore the areas below to see how I can help. If you already have a project in mind, you can get in touch directly.
Diagnose looks at what is already working, where the gaps are and what is being underused. It gives you a clear view of the current position and a basis for deciding where to focus effort and what, if anything, needs to change.
Build develops communication around a clear objective. It strengthens the proposition and the evidence behind it, shapes launches, media programmes and thought leadership, and improves activity that is already running but not producing the intended result.
Protect helps the organisation prepare before pressure arrives by working through likely scenarios and setting clear decision points. It also establishes what evidence the team will need if the situation changes.
When an issue develops, the first task is to establish what has happened and how far the situation has moved. From there, the work is to decide what level of response fits the risk and the audience involved.
Selected Work
Featured Thinking
Fig. 04Slava
Balykov
Communications adviser. 15 years working in PR, media relations and corporate communications.
My work has included international media programmes, launches, executive communications, mergers, reputation risk and crisis response.
- Based in
- Cork, Ireland
- Works across
- EMEA · APJ · North America
- Languages
- English, Russian
- In communications since
- 2011