Read enough crisis communications plans and you’ll see a host of contingencies for communicating with journalists, lawmakers, shareholders and customers. You’ll also see a variety of templated news releases, dark websites and proposed hashtags. Rarely, however, will you see any strategies and tactics directed at one of the most important audiences in any crisis: the employees who work for the organization at the center of the incident.
Why are employees so often overlooked? Maybe it’s because communicating with them is a routine matter at most organizations. Maybe it’s because employee communications lacks the glamor of media relations and executive communications. Or... ⇢ read more
As public relations counselors, we’re used to preparing our clients for how to deal with bad news. But, this past September 2018, our client experienced the opposite issue – how to avoid being overwhelmed by good news!
United Food Bank of Mesa, Arizona, learned that it would receive an abundance of USDA bonus food, along with trade mitigation foods resulting from U.S. trade renegotiations. In all, the food bank would receive about 3 million additional pounds of food, most of it requiring refrigeration.
For a food bank, 3 million pounds... ⇢ read more
By Brian Chandler, APR
If you’re looking for a so-called “Victory Royale” with your public relations work, or counsel to clients, you might want to set your crosshairs on how Epic Games handles public relations and marketing around its popular game Fortnite.
In case you’ve been off the grid or stuck under a rock for the last two years, Fornite is the most popular video game available right now. It is easy to think of video games as strictly for kids and teens, but Fortnite has attracted individuals of all ages, demographics, geographic locations and cultures, with more than 125 million players... ⇢ read more
Earlier this month, International House of Pancakes (aka IHOP) made a bold decision to rebrand. At least, that’s what people initially thought. IHOP announced June 4 on Twitter it was “flippin’ our name to IHOb.” The company didn’t tell anyone what the “b” would stand for initially, building suspense for the big reveal.
People guessed everything from biscuits, to bacon to butternut squash. Many people assumed “b” would stand for “breakfast” since IHOP is known for its pancakes and other morning fare. For a week, IHOb (the name had already been changed on Twitter) continued to engage with followers via social... ⇢ read more
We're always on the hunt for PR genius to serve clients. I found ‘ducky’ inspiration during a recent trip to South Africa. The entire country is breathtaking. So is its Cape Winelands region, located about a half hour northeast of Cape Town.
Near Stellenbosch, we visited the Vergenoegd Wine Estate, one of more than 500 ‘temples to the grape’ that dot the area.
In 1696, Dutch settler Pieter de Vos bought a fertile piece of land near the town. After looking it over, he declared his property vergenoegd: “I’m satisfied with this place. It’s good enough. It’s far enough.”
Pronouncing the word is a challenge. Understanding de Vos’ passion... ⇢ read more
There have been a few events/circumstances that occurred recently, which have prompted me to consider starting a new movement. Who's with me?
“What is it?” you are asking? Well, I would like to propose a new direction/focus to the practice of Public Relations and call it…Common Sense Communications. I think it might better explain what we do and how we personally approach the discipline as it relates to our clients and life in general.
A client called recently with a potential crisis at its facility, which was brought to their attention by a customer. Without providing all the important information to us,... ⇢ read more
By Amy Kossoff Smith, President Write Ideas, Inc., and Editor/Founder of PRCG Powerlines
When you put a group of premier public relations experts in a room for three days, you never know what magic will happen. And this year's conference was no exception. Our theme, "Turn it Up," had multiple applications, including a colorful conversation of best/first concerts, and action-packed sessions on branding, social media, PR strategy, and lots more. The theme, how do we work together to "Turn it Up" for our clients, our individual firms, and most importantly, the incredible collective experience of PRConsultants Group, was prevalent throughout the... ⇢ read more
By Hope Brown, APR
Principal, PublicCity PR
If you ask the average six-year-old what he or she dreams of becoming when they grow up, I’m betting “public relations professional” doesn’t rank high on the roster of responses…you know, probably somewhere just behind fairy princess or superhero, I assume. That said, even a “grown-up PR professional” can feel like they’re making a difference in the world, if given the opportunity. The team at PublicCity PR (PCPR) was recently given such an opportunity, thanks to our partners at Brogan & Partners, and the dedicated team at the Michigan Women’s Foundation (MWF). Together – with... ⇢ read more
By Melinda Kruyer, Kruyer & Associates
The recent losses of David Carr, New York Times, and Bob Simon, CBS News, juxtaposed to the fall of Brian Williams, NBC News, got me thinking about the reporters in my world and how much I value them as collaborators and respect them as professionals. Here is an example.
I learned about water technology when I signed on to lead the branding, marketing and public relations efforts for the new WTIC, the water technology innovation cluster covering Ohio, Kentucky and SE Indiana. The first thing that we did was to change the name to Confluence.
What is... ⇢ read more
By Natalie Ghidotti, APR
It’s no shocker that online video consumption continues increasing at a rapid pace. According to comScore’s Video Metrix, 190.3 million Americans watched online content videos last summer.
Videos are easily viewed from a variety of devices – whether that’s a smartphone, tablet or desktop computer. They’re also entertaining, while informing. Think of the number of videos you probably watch just in your Facebook feed alone. Don’t tell me you haven’t clicked on one of those Buzzfeed videos before. We all have!
So knowing that people like to watch things, it’s no surprise that using video in your media relations... ⇢ read more
By Margaret Nathan, Partner at Strategic Communication, Inc.
In a recent article in The New York Times, the great David Brooks wrote an article about the difference between baseball and soccer. He posed the question:
Is life more like baseball, or is it more like soccer?
He then went on to quote, “as Simon Critchley pointed out recently in The New York Review of Books, soccer is a game about occupying and controlling space. If you get the ball and your teammates have run the right formations, and structured the space around you, you’ll have three or four options on where to distribute... ⇢ read more
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