Our Insights

Crenshaw Communications, public relations • November 19, 2010

Ten Lessons Of A PR Entrepreneur

Last weekend I had the honor of being part of an entrepreneurship panel at the annual Student Career Conference hosted by the New York Women in Communications Foundation. Some 300 students of media, PR, and communications gathered to network, learn, and be inspired by women who’ve made careers in the field. My panel featured an amazing lineup […]

branding, communications, Crenshaw Communications, public relations, reputation • November 11, 2010

Can You Turn Bad Publicity Into Good PR?

When Gap unveiled a new logo last month, the negative buzz forced it to backpedal and eventually restore the original, iconic identity. It was a miss for Gap…or was it? Logo-gate may have awakened brand fans and made it more relevant than it’s been in years. Accident? Probably. But there are ways to turn a PR failure into […]

branding, communications, Crenshaw Communications, marketing, leadership, public relations • November 3, 2010

PR Lessons From The 2010 Election

No matter how you feel about the results of the 2010 midterms, it’s been an interesting election season. Start with a stagnant economy, add a soured electorate, pour on the tea party activists, and it’s a bitter brew, at least for incumbents. The election also offers lessons for communicators. Here’s what marketing and PR pros […]

advertising, communications, public relations • November 2, 2010

Five Ways To Win The Big Pitch

Guest post by Patricia Gibney A large, competitive agency search can be time-consuming and crazy-making for everyone. It helps when a search consultant is involved, but that happens less frequently in these days of tight budgets. Often the client is on its own — and frequently in unfamiliar territory. The result: agency teams don’t have the […]

News • November 1, 2010

Marijane Funess Joins Crenshaw Communications

Marijane Funess has joined us as Account Director. Marijane brings a wealth of experience in consumer brand marketing. She was most recently with theOnswitch, a boutique marketing communications agency, and was previously at Burson Marsteller, Manning, Selvage & Lee, and Ogilvy & Mather Los Angeles. Marijane has developed high-profile PR programs for General Foods, Suzuki, […]

communications, Crenshaw Communications, marketing, public relations • October 29, 2010

Truth Is The New Black: The Case For Authenticity In PR

At a meeting of the Council of PR Firms last week, keynoter Marc Pritchard, P&G’s Chief Marketing Officer and the man responsible for spending more marketing dollars than any human on earth, called public relations “the most authentic form of marketing.” It’s a crowd-pleasing line, at least in a room full of PR professionals. Now, I’m […]

advertising, communications, Crenshaw Communications, public relations • October 25, 2010

When Should An Agency Fire A Client?

Towards the end of season four of “Mad Men,” we see Don Draper take out a full-page ad in The New York Times to announce that his firm will no longer accept tobacco clients. The ad paints the move as an ethical decision and even implies that the agency’s split from its largest client, Lucky Strike, […]

advertising, communications, Crenshaw Communications, public relations • October 19, 2010

Trust And The Age Of Prank PR

It seemed like a bold PR strategy and a decisive move toward corporate responsibility and transparency. Chevron Vice Chairman George L. Kirkland said. “We’ve got problems and challenges, and we too make mistakes, but we’re telling truths no one usually tells, and looking wide-eyed into the future.” Wow. Except he never said it, of course. […]

communications, Crenshaw Communications, crisis management, leadership, public relations, social media • October 13, 2010

Crisis Management: Lessons From The Chilean Mine Rescue

As the world watched, the government of Chile showed not only leadership, but remarkable PR and communications savvy as it sought to free 33 miners trapped underground for over two months. Its handling of the ordeal was like a mirror image of the BP disaster. Here are some crisis management learnings we can unearth from […]