The Business Communicators

Hosted by Austin Staton, Hattie Horn, Thomas Baen, Kim Davis

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103

Latest episode

Feb 2025

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About the show

The Business Communicators takes professionals on a journey that explores the key issues and trends that impact our industry. Focusing on professional development, each episode features a compelling conversation with c-suite executives, strategists, nationally-acclaimed journalists, and digital influencers.

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60 recent

February 28, 202551 min

Networking that Works: How to Adapt and Survive the Job Market in 2025

Success doesn’t teach you much; failure does. On the latest episode of The Business Communicators, Austin, Hattie, and Thomas are joined by Daniel Méndez Aróstica as he shares his insights on how comms pros can navigate a shifting job market through strategic networking, personal branding, and community support. Daniel discusses his journey of building an open, inclusive community through #CommsJobs that empowers people to connect, learn, and grow, why it’s important to make networking personal, and the importance of being visible and being human. FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA 🎬 Facebook🐦 Twitter📸 Instagram📥 LinkedIn🧵 Threads🎥 YouTubeSUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST🎙 Apple Podcasts🎙 Spotify💻 Website

March 4, 202445 min

Ethical Storytelling and PR’s Future

Understanding your audience, crafting a compelling narrative, and building relationship are the core tools everyone needs to be successful in public relations. However, since artificial intelligence (AI) has entered the chat, how do we evolve the field and adapt our careers?On the latest episode of The Business Communicators, Josh Kail joins Austin and Thomas for a discussion on the evolving media landscape through digital platforms, social media, and emerging technologies like AI. Kail emphasizes that, while AI can assist in tasks like data analysis and pattern recognition, it cannot replace the human element in PR - the creativity, empathy, and ethical judgment that are crucial in storytelling and relationship building.The episode touches on navigating the ethical challenges that come with new technologies and data usage, the Cambridge Analytica scandal, and the potential for misuse of data in influencing public opinion. Music Credit: Smoke (with Lostboycrow) – Feather FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA 🎬 Facebook🐦 Twitter📸 Instagram📥 LinkedIn🧵 Threads🎥 YouTubeSUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST🎙 Apple Podcasts🎙 Spotify💻 Website

February 12, 202437 min

Adapting Comms for the AI and Digital Age: Insights from Axios' Eleanor Hawkins

Eleanor Hawkins, a communication strategist and writer at Axios, joins The Business Communicators to discuss the changing landscape of media and communication, including the impact of AI and digital strategies on the industry.The episode focuses on the challenges and opportunities faced by communicators in reaching their audience, especially in the context of political events like elections and the evolving media environment. They discuss the role of AI in future elections and the importance of adapting communication strategies to meet audience needs and expectations.Eleanor highlights the significance of owned content and how companies like Amazon and Spotify successfully leverage it. She stresses the need for communicators to be creative and strategic in their approach, especially in an election year where everything becomes political.Music Credit: Smoke (with Lostboycrow) – Feather FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA 🎬 Facebook🐦 Twitter📸 Instagram📥 LinkedIn🧵 Threads🎥 YouTubeSUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST🎙 Apple Podcasts🎙 Spotify💻 Website

January 17, 202444 min

2023 Unpacked: The Hits and Misses in AI and Comms

Before we fully embrace the new year, The Business Communicators takes a look back at their “bold” comms predictions for 2023 while breaking down their hits and near misses. From AI and ChatGPT to fact-checking and propaganda, do Thomas and Austin have a future in forecasting models?Music Credit: Smoke (with Lostboycrow) – Feather FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA 🎬 Facebook🐦 Twitter📸 Instagram📥 LinkedIn🧵 Threads🎥 YouTubeSUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST🎙 Apple Podcasts🎙 Spotify💻 Website

September 11, 202347 min

Are Schools Setting Up Comms Students to Fail?

Rutgers grad student Anna Tamke penned an op-ed in PR Week sharing her thoughts on why college has not prepared her for a career in public relations – a plea for higher education to teach real world skills in the classroom. "It’s a rude awakening when you graduate with a PR degree and realize you’re unemployed in a post-pandemic world with an unreal expectation for what working in your field looks like,” Tamke wrote. “If the education system properly taught students — like myself — what PR is and how to do it, entering the workforce wouldn’t be so hard." Austin and Thomas are joined by Calgary-based comms pro Matthew John to weigh on the opinion piece, share their personal experience breaking into corporate communications, what schools of higher learning can do to properly equip students to succeed, and why it’s important for students and professionals to look after their own professional development.Music Credit: Smoke (with Lostboycrow) – Feather FOLLOW MATTHEW JOHN ON SOCIAL MEDIA 📥 LinkedIn📚 Read Matt’s latest Trust TalkFOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA 🎬 Facebook🐦 Twitter📸 Instagram📥 LinkedIn🧵 Threads🎥 YouTubeSUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST🎙 Apple Podcasts🎙 Spotify💻 Website FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA 🎬 Facebook🐦 Twitter📸 Instagram📥 LinkedIn🧵 Threads🎥 YouTubeSUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST🎙 Apple Podcasts🎙 Spotify💻 Website

August 28, 202337 min

Hustle to Heart: Transforming Side Gigs into Lifelong Passions

Meek John Havard, the creator of the kids-focused YouTube channel, Cowboy Jack. Launched during the pandemic, Havard created The Cowboy Jack Show as an educational and fun channel for kids that takes them on adventures to explore this amazing world. Havard describes the channel as a “therapeutic hobby” that has now blown up with more than 8 million views per month. On this episode of The Business Communicators, Havard shares insights into the creation of the show, how he utilizes online resources and his network to grow and evolve the channel, and tips for those looking to monetize, grow, or leverage their passion.Music Credit: Smoke (with Lostboycrow) – Feather FOLLOW COWBOY JACK ON SOCIAL MEDIA 🎥 YouTube🎬 Facebook💻 WebsiteFOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA 🎬 Facebook🐦 Twitter📸 Instagram📥 LinkedIn🧵 Threads🎥 YouTubeSUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST🎙 Apple Podcasts🎙 Spotify💻 Website FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA 🎬 Facebook🐦 Twitter📸 Instagram📥 LinkedIn🧵 Threads🎥 YouTubeSUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST🎙 Apple Podcasts🎙 Spotify💻 Website

August 4, 202330 min

The Impact of College Football Realignment and Higher Education

What impact will college athletic realignment have on the future of academic institutions? Are schools of higher learning left chasing the highest dollar from TV networks like Fox Sports, ESPN, and streaming services like Apple TV? On the latest episode of The Business Communicators, data analyst Sam Bradshaw discusses the financial implications of college athletics and what it means from a communications angle. Simply put: Don’t think it’s about the money, know it’s about the money. Music Credit: Smoke (with Lostboycrow) – Feather FOLLOW SAM ON SOCIAL MEDIA 🐦 TwitterFOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA 🎬 Facebook🐦 Twitter📸 Instagram📥 LinkedIn🧵 Threads🎥 YouTubeSUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST🎙 Apple Podcasts🎙 Spotify💻 Website FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA 🎬 Facebook🐦 Twitter📸 Instagram📥 LinkedIn🧵 Threads🎥 YouTubeSUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST🎙 Apple Podcasts🎙 Spotify💻 Website

July 17, 202327 min

It’s a Barbie Marketing World; Mentors That Shaped Us

The summer blockbuster season is in full swing amidst Hollywood's striking actors and writers. Now, studios are turning to influencers to hype up releases like Barbie, Mission Impossible, and Oppenheimer. Can content creators seize this opportunity and how will it shake up advertising for brands?To close the episode, Austin and Thomas discuss their influential mentors and share career-changing advice they wish they had known before diving into the corporate world.Music Credit: Smoke (with Lostboycrow) – Feather FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA 🎬 Facebook🐦 Twitter📸 Instagram📥 LinkedIn🧵 Threads🎥 YouTubeSUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST🎙 Apple Podcasts🎙 Spotify💻 Website FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA 🎬 Facebook🐦 Twitter📸 Instagram📥 LinkedIn🧵 Threads🎥 YouTubeSUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST🎙 Apple Podcasts🎙 Spotify💻 Website

July 10, 202335 min

Meta's Threads Makes a Heavyweight Entrance: How Should Businesses React?

With nearly 100 million users signed on just days after launch, Meta’s Threads has quickly skyrocketed to the top-ranked app in Apple’s App Store directly placing Twitter on life support. However, is the growth sustainable or will Threads become the next Clubhouse or Google Plus?On the latest episode of The Business Communicators, Chris Ferris, VP of Digital Strategy at Pierpont Communications, joins the podcast to weigh in on the long-term viability of Threads and Twitter, and what immediate steps your company should take to evaluate the business case for Threads and other digital media platforms.Music Credit: Smoke (with Lostboycrow) – Feather FOLLOW CHRIS ON SOCIAL MEDIA 💻 Pierpont Communications🧵 Threads📥 LinkedInFOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA 🎬 Facebook🐦 Twitter📸 Instagram📥 LinkedIn🧵 Threads🎥 YouTubeSUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST🎙 Apple Podcasts🎙 Spotify💻 Website FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA 🎬 Facebook🐦 Twitter📸 Instagram📥 LinkedIn🧵 Threads🎥 YouTubeSUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST🎙 Apple Podcasts🎙 Spotify💻 Website

July 3, 202344 min

Crisis Control: Mastering Communications in the Eye of the Storm

Matt Lanza is a Houston-based forecast meteorologist in the energy sector and part of the team behind the wildly successful Space City Weather and The Eyewell – both dedicated to hype-free weather forecasts that see readers through the storm by providing timely and accurate information.Lanza, who previously worked as a broadcast meteorologist in Upstate New York, joins The Business Communicators to discuss how communications and cross-agency collaboration is crucial during severe weather disasters, the simplification of complex weather information and its potential impact on people and assets, preparedness during a weather crisis, forecasting El Niño, and more.Music Credit: Smoke (with Lostboycrow) – Feather FOLLOW MATT LANZA ON SOCIAL MEDIA 💻 Space City Weather💻 The Eyewall🐦 Twitter📸 Instagram📥 LinkedInFOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA 🎬 Facebook🐦 Twitter📸 Instagram📥 LinkedIn🎥 YouTubeSUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST🎙 Apple Podcasts🎙 Spotify💻 Website FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA 🎬 Facebook🐦 Twitter📸 Instagram📥 LinkedIn🧵 Threads🎥 YouTubeSUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST🎙 Apple Podcasts🎙 Spotify💻 Website