The latest episode of Data Malarkey – the podcast about using data, smarter – sees Master Data Storyteller, Sam Knowles, joined by Stephen Waddington, one of the UK’s most distinctive thinkers and practitioners in public relations. With a career spanning more than three decades, Stephen has led agencies, advised organisations, and played a sustained role in professional education. Today running Wadds Inc., his focus sits at the intersection of academic research, industry development, and professional standards in communications.
At the heart of Stephen’s approach is the engineering mindset; his undergraduate degree was a BEng in Electronics from Salford. As Stephen explains, his early training instilled a respect for repeatable, scientific process: for proof, validation, and evidence. These principles, which are fundamental in disciplines such as engineering, medicine, and law, are far less embedded in public relations. Yet, in Stephen’s view, PR deals with issues of equal importance: trust, reputation, behaviour, and public dialogue. Without rigour and shared standards, the industry risks undermining its own credibility.
This conviction has led Stephen to undertake a research doctorate at Leeds Beckett University, examining the role of communications functions during times of crisis. He observed how, during the pandemic, communications leaders were elevated into strategic decision-making roles within organisations such as the NHS and government. Rather than relying on anecdote, he has immersed himself in the scholarly literature, identifying patterns that stretch back over a century of public relations practice. His work builds on previous research, including studies into crisis management and the positioning of communications within senior leadership teams.
Now, he is gathering new data from practitioners to test a series of hypotheses and contribute meaningful evidence to the field. There’s a link below for anyone who works or has worked in PR to contribute data to Stephen’s doctorate.
Stephen’s belief in disciplined, evidence-based practice also shaped his recent collaboration with Brew, a digital marketing agency serving the hospitality sector. Through a combination of consumer surveys, in-depth interviews with pub owners and trade bodies, and the analysis of digital behavioural data, the project produced a rich and nuanced portrait of an industry under pressure. Rising costs, thin margins, and post-pandemic shifts in behaviour have all played a part in the story of pub closures across the UK. But by triangulating multiple forms of data, the report moved beyond headlines and into insight. It demonstrated how data, when thoughtfully gathered and interpreted, can form the foundation for strategic storytelling.
Yet for Stephen, data alone is not enough. Numbers provide credibility, but narrative creates meaning. It is the story around the data that connects with audiences on a human level. Whether communicating the loss of a village pub as a community hub, or explaining organisational change during a crisis, the most effective communication balances logic with emotional understanding. Without that balance, statistics risk becoming noise, just as stories without evidence risk becoming empty.
Stephen is also critical of shortcuts. He is wary of synthetic and overly processed data, and of AI being used to replace genuine engagement with research and ideas. In his view, summarising others’ work without meaningful interaction is a poor substitute for deep learning. True insight requires effort, critical thinking, and respect for the intellectual work that came before.
Ultimately, Stephen argues for a form of “McDonald’s consistency” in communications: not in terms of creativity, but in rigour. Just as a cheeseburger tastes the same in Newcastle as it does in London – and Stephen is an enthusiastic tester of this truth – there should be shared standards, frameworks, and competencies in public relations. Only then can the profession strengthen its position, improve its credibility, and demonstrate its true value.
If his work has one central message, it is this: data and narrative are not opposing forces. When used with discipline, curiosity, and purpose, they are powerful partners in helping organisations understand the world and act more wisely within it.
What better guest for Data Malarkey – the podcast about using data, smarter?
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To contribute to Stephen’s doctoral research on shaping the future role of public relations in management, follow this link: https://publicrelationsmanagement.phd
The first draft of this blog was written by ChatGPT, using a transcript of the episode and an ever-refined prompt. It was then edited by real humans.