Crenshaw Communications

Crenshaw Communications, public relations, reputation, social media • April 21, 2010

Web Anonymity And The Future of Reputation

The anonymous Web is like Freud’s id – a seething mass of pure impulse beneath a civil surface, in constant need of tamping down. While I believe wholeheartedly in free speech, it’s pretty clear that our Constitution’s framers didn’t envision ChatRoulette… or even the anonymous online comments section of the average newspaper. The balance between privacy […]

communications, Crenshaw Communications, crisis management, public relations, reputation • April 18, 2010

Wall Street’s Apology – So Far, Just PR?

Two former banking executives got another workout last week. So did the “apology PR” movement. This time it was Citibank ex-CEO Charles Prince and former director Robert Rubin. Under the hot glare of cameras – and the even more heated glares from the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, each expressed the most sincere-sounding contrition to date […]

Crenshaw Communications • April 14, 2010

Can ProPublica Save Journalism?

The Pulitzer Prizes were awarded this week. Though most of the winners for journalism were traditional, major-market newspapers, there were some notable exceptions for 2010. ProPublica, the independent, not-for-profit journalism group dedicated to investigative reporting, became the first non-traditional media organization to bring home the prestigious award. Barely a year old, ProPublica won for “The […]

advertising, branding, communications, Crenshaw Communications, marketing, public relations, technology • April 9, 2010

When Brands Try To Be Cool (Part 2)

Brands trying to be cool is an obsession of mine, and I’ve noticed how they seem to come in clusters. The latest rash of high-stakes rebrandings is in cable and Internet services. In February, Comcast renamed its TV, Internet and phone services as Xfinity. The PR picture wasn’t pretty. Bloggers and branding experts pounced on […]

communications, Crenshaw Communications, crisis management, public relations, reputation, social media • April 5, 2010

After Sea World and Nestle, How Risky is Social Media?

I once had a client whose CEO was so PR-averse that his response to requests for media interviews was the Zen-like platitude, “The spouting whale gets harpooned.” That unfortunate phrase popped into my head as I read stories like “Shamu Attack Exposes Social Media Risks.” The Orlando Sentinel and others recounted how @Shamu, the Twitter feed set […]

advertising, Crenshaw Communications, social media • March 31, 2010

Facebook Wants You To Like This – All Over The Web

Does Facebook have a problem with commitment? Or, on the flipside, has it fallen in like so hard that it wants to own both the word and the concept all over the Web? There are a couple of ways to look at this week’s announcement that the Facebook fan page will soon be a thing […]

Crenshaw Communications, technology • March 26, 2010

How To Take A Vacation When On Vacation

Years ago, before smartphones, I traveled to a spa in Mexico that had no cell service or phones in the rooms. Learning of a client company’s decision to restructure and fire my firm (as I crouched at a hallway pay phone, scrounging for quarters) didn’t leave me feeling exactly relaxed. And though the bad news […]

Crenshaw Communications, marketing, public relations, social media • March 20, 2010

Ford Leads The Way For Influencer Marketing

As I’ve previously blogged, I get a charge out of the Fiesta Movement, Ford’s nontraditional campaign to promote its new subcompact car. Not because it’s innovative, although it’s undoubtedly a departure for the automotive category. I admire it precisely because it’s not groundbreaking in the truest sense. It’s something better. The Fiesta Movement is a […]

celebrity, communications, Crenshaw Communications, marketing, social media • March 16, 2010

Genius PR Move Of The Year – Conan on Twitter

Before late February, the closest Conan O’Brien came to social media was making lame jokes about tweeting celebrities on his show. So, when his updates came over my Twitter stream, I thought it was a clever way to stay relevant for a guy who’s barred from going on television for six more months. @ConanOBrien‘s bio seemed to […]