Supercharge your career with the High Flyers PR course
Presented by Rich Leigh, this 10 lesson online public relations course will give you all the tools to become an industry-leading PR pro
Who is this course for?
Maybe you have a couple of years’ experience and you’re hungry to progress faster? Or perhaps you’re a journalist making the move into PR? You might even be a senior professional who’s worried you’ve missed something on the way up.
If you want to be confident you have all the knowledge and tools that a world-class modern PR professional needs, the High Flyers PR course is for you.
What will you learn?
The 10-lesson syllabus covers a variety of topics, from the theoretical to the highly practical. During the course you’ll learn how to:
- Persuasively argue why a client or business should invest in PR
- Plan and deliver a strategic campaign that delivers measurable business results
- Craft and pitch creative news stories
- Incorporate the latest social media and influencer channels into campaigns
- Use media relations to improve SEO
- Manage clients, bosses, teams and financials
Modules
Lesson 1 – What is PR?
The history of PR / competing definitions of what PR is / what clients and businesses actually want from PR / ethics and working in PR
Lesson 2 – The benefits of PR
Persuading someone to invest in PR / how brands work / stakeholders / crisis management / understanding your (or a client's) business
Lesson 3 – Planning a PR campaign
Using research to understand your audience / strategy vs tactics / what is an ‘insight’? / developing a “big idea” / picking the right channels and tactics
Lesson 4 – Media relations
Identifying journalists / writing a press release / how to "sell-in" / pitching reactive stories / how to talk to producers and newsmakers / preparing someone for an interview / crisis PR
Lesson 5 – Social media and influencers
How social media works / busting unhelpful myths / the Hero, Hub, Hygiene model / direct response ads / the myth of community building / paid social media / working with influencers
Lesson 6 – PR and SEO (or ‘Digital PR’)
The history of search engines / how search engines work / the 3 pillars of SEO / different types of links / white hat vs black hat / generating stories that deliver links
Lesson 7 – Creativity
What is creativity? / why it matters in PR / science and different models of creativity / convergent vs divergent thinking / idea generating exercises / training yourself to be more creative
Lesson 8 – Measurement
History of measurement / AVE and its limitations / modern approaches to measurement / creating a bespoke model for your campaign
Lesson 9 – Managing money and people
How PR agencies make money / budgeting and billing / managing clients and bosses / managing a team / proactive business development / managing time and being more productive
Lesson 10 – Your final assignment and your future
Building a career in PR / the future of PR / how to continue learning / preparing your final assignment
How you'll learn
- 10 weekly online video lessons, that you can watch at your convenience
- A Slack community where you can learn from your peers, build new connections, discuss the lessons, and get feedback on optional weekly mini-assignments
- Fortnightly Q&A sessions with Rich Leigh
- End of term assessment with grading and feedback
Start date
Meet the team
Rich Leigh
Rich is a best-selling public relations author, agency founder and global speaker.
Rich founded the UK’s #1 PR blog Famous Campaigns, and his book Myths of PR has been translated into more than half a dozen languages. He has been acknowledged as a communications innovator, creating industry tools and leading the charge for professional change; running the first PR agency and one of the first companies in the world to adopt a four day work week for five days’ pay in 2018.
With 15 years of industry experience and with a particular focus on creative PR that leads to measurable results, Rich has led communications for household names including Disney, Virgin Group, Just-Eat, Paddy Power and the NHS. He has delivered keynote talks to international audiences and regularly gives lectures to undergraduate and masters students across the UK.
Alex Wilson
Alex is an EFFIE-award winning PR professional with over 10 years’ experience.
Alex is an independent PR consultant working with agencies and brands, he spent 7 years working at Hill+Knowlton Strategies in London, Shanghai and Beijing. During his time at H+K he worked in a number of roles including head of business development for Asia & Greater China, and on global campaigns as a creative strategist and digital planner.
Alex has worked with some of the largest brands and businesses in the world including Adidas, General Electric, LG, Mondelez and Procter & Gamble.
Accreditations
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Frequently asked questions
The next course will start on 14 November 2022. Students will have access to the platform until 31 March 2023.
Students will be given a hypothetical PR brief, and will be asked to use a template to create a PR plan that answers the brief, and submit it within 3 weeks.
The brief will reference a number of topics covered in the course. Students will be graded on the strategic coherence of their response, its creativity, and the likelihood that their plan will achieve the objectives outlined in the brief.
Students will receive a grade based on their plans, as well as feedback from Rich and Alex. The best scoring responses will be made available to all students.
Students can submit questions about the latest classes and readings via our Slack channel, at any point during their study. Rich will then answer all these questions during the fortnightly Q&A session, which can be accessed as a podcast on demand.
The lengths of weekly video lessons will vary, but are typically between 45 and 90 minutes.
Optional extra reading or mini-assignments could take anywhere between 30 minutes and 3 hours to complete each week, but are in no way compulsory.
Individual bookings are £850 + VAT and can be made on our booking page
For group bookings (4 people or more) or bespoke bookings, please email bookings@highflyersPRcourse.com
Once you’ve registered and the course begins, you’ll be able to login to the course portal via the PR High Flyers website.