ImPRessions

communications, ImPRessions, public relations • July 1, 2014

7 Ways To Use PR To Get Ahead in Business

A couple of years ago, PR Jessica Kleiman and Meryl Weinsaft Cooper wrote a book, Be Your Own Best Publicist, that is full of great ways for next-gen types to use PR techniques for self-advancement at work. It got me thinking about how classic PR tactics could be used for personal and professional branding, particularly […]

Crenshaw Communications, ImPRessions, public relations • June 22, 2014

Questions To Ask Your PR Agency

I liked Jay Baer’s thoughtful dose of tough love to the public relations community, “The 8 Wrong Questions PR Agencies Are Asking About Social Media.” In fact, I liked it so much that it inspired me to create a similar list of typical questions posed by prospective clients to the PR firms they may be […]

Crenshaw Communications, ImPRessions, public relations • June 16, 2014

How Strategic PR Can Support A Successful Exit

Ask any PR or communications professional how to succeed with an investment in strategic public relations, and they will surely ask about goals. The most powerful PR programs are focused on supporting business objectives from product visibility to expansion into new markets. But the right PR plan is also valuable for accelerating a business exit […]

Crenshaw Communications, ImPRessions, public relations • June 6, 2014

Eight Ways For Communicators To Fight Tunnel Vision

Success in public relations often requires advocacy for a client’s message or mission. Yet to be a top PR strategist it helps to see all sides of an issue or equation and to anticipate questions and reactions from multiple audiences. Diversity is also essential to creativity, but do you ever feel like you hear and […]

Crenshaw Communications, ImPRessions, public relations • May 30, 2014

PR Lessons From 2014 Commencement Speakers

Commencement is not only a rich season for advice to those entering the “real world”; it also offers learnings for professional communicators, as well as opportunities for the boldface names who do the speaking. Here’s my list of lessons from those people and institutions who’ve set examples – both for good and ill – for […]

Crenshaw Communications, ImPRessions, public relations • May 22, 2014

Is PR The New Advertising?

Recently I participated in a roundtable discussion of PR agency owners and senior officers at large multinational firms about the evolution of public relations and its perceived value within major corporations. The conversation was serious, even a little gloomy; the consensus was that although advertising has been greatly disrupted by social media, data-driven marketing, and […]

communications, Crenshaw Communications, ImPRessions, public relations • May 15, 2014

Good Public Relations Is A Two-Way Dialogue

In public relations, we’re all about supporting strategic business objectives. Ask any PR professional, and you’ll probably get an earful about how what we do goes far beyond publicity and media relations. But CEOs haven’t gotten the memo. At least, not according to research unveiled at the 2014 International Public Relations Research Conference. One learning […]

communications, Crenshaw Communications, ImPRessions • May 7, 2014

To Be A Better Communicator, Listen

One of the overlooked skills of PR practitioners and other communicators is listening – both literally (as any good manager or colleague should), and more broadly, as in hearing and interpreting the opinions and feedback of high-priority audiences. These days, even with terrific social tools, listening can be a challenge. There’s the speed of digital […]

Crenshaw Communications, ImPRessions • May 1, 2014

Lies (PR) Agencies Tell

In a gem of a client-agency scene in Sunday’s episode of “Mad Men,” Harry Crane is called into a client meeting to reassure them that SCP’s media-buying technology is every bit as good as that of rival Grey, whose new “computer” has been written up in The New York Times. Thinking on his feet, Harry […]