Our Insights

Crenshaw Communications, crisis management, reputation • April 22, 2009

Staying Green When You’re In The Red

For the past several years, just before Earth Day, we’ve done a survey on behalf of Call2Recycle, a battery and product collection and recycling program, about “green guilt,” a term we coined that’s pretty self-explanatory. Green guilt is what you feel when you toss your soda can into the regular garbage, or shove that once-trendy-but-now-obsolete cell […]

communications, Crenshaw Communications, public relations, social media • April 20, 2009

Ford Throws A Social Media Fiesta

At last, some good news from Detroit…or at least, an interesting move in which the words “bailout” and “bankruptcy” have no place. Ford recently announced that it will offer Fiesta subcompact cars to 100 Web types – bloggers, Twitter rockstars, and social media influencers – for six months. The lucky 100 will receive car insurance and gas, so they can test-drive the Fiestas […]

Crenshaw Communications, social media • April 17, 2009

Following Oprah

She’s arguably the most influential figure in our culture next to the President…except, wait, she picked our President, right? Seriously, the social media world is atwitter after the announcement that Oprah will make her first Tweet Friday on her show. Only @Oprah, the Queen of Everything, could rack up over 40,000 followers before posting a single update, […]

communications, Crenshaw Communications, crisis management, reputation, social media • April 16, 2009

When Bad Things Happen To Good Brands

Too often, a company’s own failings can put its brand at risk. But, as the world knows, sometimes — well, stuff just happens. Earlier this week, Domino’s Pizza found itself facing a brand reputation crisis when two North Carolina store employees videotaped themselves doing disgusting things to food and placed the video on YouTube Although […]

Crenshaw Communications, public relations • April 15, 2009

Susan Boyle, Marketer’s Dream?

PR people often talk about “packaging” a client’s story, or framing it in a way that’s current, visual, or relevant. But, every once in a while, something comes along that defies the rules…or rewrites them. Right now, that something is a someone – Susan Boyle. Boyle is the decidely unglamorous 48-year-old who wowed a panel of […]

communications, Crenshaw Communications, crisis management, reputation, social media • April 13, 2009

Amazon Turns Up The Gaydar?

Last week a friend joked that, based on her Caucasian husband’s onetime purchase of a novel by bestselling author Toni Morrison as a gift on amazon.com, the site now “thinks he’s an African-American lesbian,” and we had a laugh about the advantages (and drawbacks) of collaborative filtering software. So, I was unaware of the furor surrounding an apparent change […]

communications, Crenshaw Communications • April 10, 2009

The Label Made Me Do It

As someone who’s spent years working on behalf of food and health brands, I understand the critical need for solid communication about the nutritional value – or lack of it – in food products, particularly convenience or fast foods. But, when I read about lawsuits against food companies filling up the court dockets, as reported […]

Crenshaw Communications, social media, technology • April 10, 2009

Getting The Twitter Religion

I was all set to blog about all the fun Passover action on social networking sites – the constant tweets and updates, the Facebook Haggadah, the Twitter widget for locating a seder in your zip code, when another holiday use of social networking caught my eye. Trinity Wall Street Church in New York will “Twitter […]

Crenshaw Communications, social media • April 4, 2009

Last Night A Twitter Saved A Life

The social media thing can seem frivolous at times…after all, we’re not talking about saving lives, right? Wrong. Yesterday, actress and celebrity Twitterati Demi Moore reportedly helped stop a possible suicide attempt by a woman who tweeted her intent to cut her arm to kill herself. (I admit I follow mrskutcher, and even saw the comment in question, but […]