The Top Threats To Your Company’s Reputation
In today’s volatile media and social environment, good PR comes at a premium and brand reputation is fragile. Look at Trump’s dressing down of many businesses, or the controversy Uber has run into when founder Travis Kalanick acts out. (More on that later.) Some argue that any type of buzz is good for business, even […]
Read MorePR Pros Take On A President
Has public relations finally won the respect of journalists? Sure, PRs and media work together, and we need each other. But the relationship between “flacks and hacks” is an odd and uneasy symbiosis. That’s why a recent piece in the Columbia Journalism Review about PR professionals and the war between our 45th president and […]
Read More9 Secrets Of Great PR For Startups
Does a startup business always need to hire a PR agency? There’s no shortage of advice on the question, and much of it is contradictory. Mark Cuban famously advised young companies not to bring on an external PR firm, reasoning that an entrepreneur is the best person to handle media contact. I’m a Cuban fan […]
Read MoreWhen Brands Get Political: Is It Good PR?
A couple of weeks ago, I was called by two journalists wanting public relations insights on companies hit with blowback for comments about our new president. Should brands get political, they wanted to know? I shared my perspective that brands shouldn’t always shy away from controversy, summarizing with, “You can’t put your head in a hole, […]
Read MorePublic Relations And The Big Lie
As journalists grapple with “alternative facts” and the Trump administration’s war on the media, some professional public relations people are putting ourselves in the shoes of those who act as spokespersons for the new president. Those shoes are pretty uncomfortable. As the Trump and the media squared off, I was struck by a provocative […]
Read MoreHow PR And Customer Service Can Work Together
Good customer service and good public relations have never been more aligned. One of the quickest ways to understand an organization’s reputation is to look at its response to a consumer complaint. A company can spend millions on a brand reputation campaign, use high-powered PR agencies, and reap the benefits of CEO thought leadership, but […]
Read MoreHow To Manage A Press Conference (If You’re Not Donald Trump)
Donald Trump gave his first press conference as President-Elect yesterday. Reactions to the presser may vary with the political views of the observer, but most professional PR people would probably say it did not go well. Overall, the transition team seems to be stuck in campaign mode. The briefing was staged more like a mini-rally […]
Read MoreThe Top PR Trends For 2017
Like any other business discipline, public relations has changed in recent years. The Global Communications Report, a comprehensive worldwide survey of more than 1,000 senior PR executives worldwide, reveals that the worldwide PR industry is predicted to grow from its current estimated size of $14 billion to $19.3 billion over the next five years. According to […]
Read MoreThe Biggest PR Disasters Of 2016
2016 had plenty of the kind of the kinds of news-making crises that public relations people dread. It was a year of surprises, setbacks, and scandals. Here’s our list for the top stories that damaged brand reputations, wrecked careers, and kept media and PRs working overtime. Samsung’s product recall gets heated Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 showed […]
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