We love working with tech startups, especially those with a few years (and a round or two of financing) behind them, and who are prepared to make the most of a public relations agency partnership. It’s exciting to collaborate with an early-stage company because a good PR campaign can really make a difference. As I’ve…
Read more

Since the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland, Florida, a small group of activist students have shown remarkable media and public relations savvy in taking on powerful forces who oppose firearm limits. In just six weeks, they may have accomplished more to raise awareness and change public opinion on gun safety than…
Read more

As an industry, public relations has a PR problem. Stereotypes about the profession die hard; 14 years after “Sex and the City,” people still think Samantha Jones is a typical PR woman. Or maybe they liken PR to dirty tricks, like the antics of fictional Big Tobacco flack Nick Naylor in Christopher Buckley’s satire “Thank…
Read more

When should a large company take a political stand? Some PR experts would say never. And you can’t blame big companies if they want to avoid public debates about the causes of gun violence, climate change, or other politicized issues. But increasingly, corporate America is being asked to pick a side. It seems there’s more…
Read more

Who says you can’t make lemons into PR lemonade? That’s precisely what the UK unit of fast-food chain KFC managed after an embarrassing shortage of a pretty important ingredient in its prepared meals – that’s right, chicken. Due to a change in suppliers, KFC was somehow unable to procure birds in the UK, forcing it…
Read more

Can you imagine being the guy running a public relations agency that “perished in a public relations fiasco”?  That’s the unhappy fate of James Henderson, the former CEO of now-defunct PR and crisis management powerhouse Bell Pottinger. The London-based firm imploded last year after its role in running a “dirty campaign” for South African client…
Read more

Yes, 2017 feels like a lifetime ago, given our breakneck news cycle, but there were plenty of public relations lessons over the year for big brands and business categories. Here’s a look at those who came out on top, and others who took a reputation beating last year. The Winners Amazon 2017 was like a…
Read more

Public relations has many fans, from legendary figures like Steve Jobs, to the current occupant of the White House. Yet PR doesn’t always command the same respect as other disciplines, like advertising or direct-mail. It’s even still a bit mysterious to some. As Greg Galant of MuckRack once observed, the advertising business is linked with…
Read more

For years, public relations and reputation experts have promoted CEO activism and corporate social responsibility, preaching its benefits and warning of limits and pitfalls. But for many corporate communicators, the position was lonely. For some companies, the embrace of social change programming was little more than lip service — maybe a dignified corporate social responsibility…
Read more

What can PR  professionals expect in 2018? Despite the acceleration of change, new directions don’t always announce themselves. Yet in 2017 we’ve seen specific trends that might reasonably be expected to continue through next year. Here are some we’ve noticed. Brand advocacy will grow. Shortly before the inauguration of the new president, some brands  went…
Read more