It’s said that a crisis brings out the best and worst in us — and in our leaders. In the three long weeks since the Coronavirus outbreak was declared a pandemic, Americans have experienced a crazy-quilt of messages from leadership at federal, state, and local governments. There are leadership communications lessons about crisis management in…
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It’s a tough time for business leaders. The rapid rise of public health warnings about COVID-19 and the ripple effects of the pandemic and our coping strategies pose a particular challenge for any organization, especially its communicators. The news cycle is dominated by the spread of the coronavirus and its repercussions. The effect on employee…
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For most people social media is a great way to follow trending news, post food pictures and, most importantly, share memes. For PR and marketing folks, it’s a key part of business communications. Social media helps us and our clients connect to customers, drive web traffic, and even develop or convert leads. 71% of social…
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“Newsjacking” is how public relations people secure reactive coverage by jumping on a story that’s already in the news. Unlike proactive pitching, where we push out client data or offer a company announcement, reactive pitching leans on the news cycle to maximize coverage. A fast news cycle invites B2B newsjacking Today’s news cycle is ultra-fast,…
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One of the top news stories last week was the debut of billionaire and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in the ninth Democratic presidential debate. Following a $130 million ad blitz, it was Bloomberg’s first time qualifying for a debate since he announced his candidacy late last year. To say the rust was…
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As a PR person, I’ve always been fascinated by the complicated psychology of whistleblowing. Lately it seems particularly relevant. Tom Mueller, who interviewed over 200 corporate whistleblowers for his book Crisis of Conscience: Whistleblowing in an Age of Fraud, proclaims this “the age of the whistleblower.” Look at Theranos – the health tech unicorn that…
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Twitter is an essential resource for PR pros whose job requires them to stay up-to-date and engaged with reporters across different sectors. For us, one of those is cybersecurity. With data breaches happening frequently, data privacy making news, and the presidential election looming, security is the hottest of hot topics. How can PR specialists stay…
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As every politics fan knows, the Iowa caucuses mark the official start of voting in a given election year. Because of its first-in-the-nation status and a quaint, complicated caucus system (or maybe in spite of it), Iowa has an outsize impact on news and social media coverage. Newspapers camp out there, journalists embed with campaigns,…
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AI and machine learning might be the crowd favorite for most disruptive technologies in 2020. They also offer lots of opportunity for tech PR teams. But there’s an overlooked bit of B2B tech that’s quietly poised to shake things up: the cloud. From data management to document storage, the outlook is strong with a high…
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For a PR agency, what’s better than winning a new client? Keeping the ones you have. Naturally, any good PR firm wants to do both. But it costs a lot more to find a new client than to keep (and grow) current ones. Research by Bain & Company shows that boosting customer retention rates by…
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As any good PR person knows, we consume news very differently than we did a decade ago, thanks to social media. Yet television talk and news has been surprisingly resilient. Cable news, in fact, is booming. And for many of us in PR, there’s nothing better than getting your client a nice, juicy segment on…
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The Asia Pacific region contains many of the fastest-growing and lucrative business markets, especially for technology companies. Why? Advancements like 5G, robotics, AI, and mobile technology infrastructure give it an edge. Many APAC countries are still developing rapidly and offer an entrepreneurial mindset; the region has leapfrogged Western technology cycles and is racing head of…
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Each year, right on the heels of CES, thousands of hungry retailers, vendors and influencers flood New York City’s Javits Center for the retail industry’s annual conference, NRF. In 2020, this PR professional was among them. NRF is at retail’s epicenter, unveiling exciting new vendors as well as key trends that define the industry for…
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CES 2020 is officially a wrap. Much of the news was about new gadgets and Big Tech announcements, but there was plenty of PR from B2B tech brands, too. What did the show tell us about the rest of the year? What dominated the conversation? Here are six trends that stood out. CCPA has an…
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As we race into another year, it’s time for PR pros to check their Twitter feeds to make sure we’re following the right people. 2020 is sure to be an innovative year for ad tech, thanks to CCPA and other industry happenings that are shaking up the status quo. By following the top journalists and…
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2019 was a landmark year for those who work in cybersecurity PR, and not in a good way. Many organizations fell victim to breaches, hacks and leaks — at an average cost per incident of nearly $4 billion. From Capital One and Facebook, to the AMCA, Georgia Tech and more — each shows that no…
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For most experts in public relations, it’s easy to identify episodes where companies or individuals made mistakes, often making a bad situation worse. But what about the successes? Those are harder to assess. They may be about the brand that punches above its weight, one that makes a comeback against the odds, or even the…
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Not every tech PR agency is familiar with the ad tech category, but it keeps growing in size and significance. The boom comes thanks to data privacy concerns and the call from major advertisers for greater transparency and control over their digital advertising. To some, ad tech is a baffling alphabet soup of acronyms, like…
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DTC luggage company Away replaced Steph Korey as CEO just days after a PR trainwreck of an article by The Verge exposed its punitive work culture. Korey will be kicked upstairs to take an Executive Chairman post and former Lululemon executive Stuart Haselden will step into her old position. To be clear, Haselden’s hire must…
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We seem to be in a crisis of confidence. Public faith in many institutions – organized religion, Congress, and the news media — has eroded over four decades. According to Gallup, only the U.S. military has enjoyed a fairly consistent upswing in public confidence since the 1970s. The change seems particularly acute lately in our…
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As we head into the final months of the year and get ready for 2020, public relations pros are looking back on the year and taking stock of what means most to us in our work lives. Here’s what the Crenshaw team was most thankful for in 2019. CHRIS HARIHAR, PARTNER “I’m thankful for…
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FedEx CEO Fred Smith’s overheated response to a New York Times story about its tax bill – or lack of it – offers a PR master class in how not to react to an investigative piece. The NYT story packs a punch. By taking advantage of the 2017 tax legislation that cuts corporate rates from…
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To promote professional expertise and build visibility, it helps to be a media resource – that’s what keeps PR agencies in business. It’s also why it hurts when, after investing in researching and shaping a potential story, an interview doesn’t make its way past the initial phone call. How can subject-matter experts maximize their chances…
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A great PR campaign will obviously build brand visibility. But can it help where it really counts — customer acquisition? Can you draw a line from a PR program to a specific number of prospects generated? What about conversions from website visits, or deals influenced by credible articles or analyst reports? Does good PR create…
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The lifeblood of any startup is new customers. Whether it’s a B2C company that needs a high volume of sales or a B2B with a slower selling cycle, every high-growth business invests heavily in customer acquisition. Many businesses use a mix of email marketing, paid search, SEO, content marketing, and social media marketing to create…
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Most PR pros know that throwing facts and figures at a business audience won’t necessarily win them over. A great story, on the other hand, is more persuasive and more memorable. At a time when we have more data than we can possibly use and people connect on social platforms, storytelling is an ideal tool…
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An open call for trained performers — Have I got a career for you! Performing has an irresistible allure for an aspiring actor. The bug bites deep and won’t let go. Yet according to a recent survey, only 2% of actors make a living from it. That stat is enough to make you reach for…
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In business as in life, reputation is everything. Few corporate CEOs will deny that a company’s reputation colors every aspect of business, including marketing, talent recruitment, employee relations, shareholder relations, and even customer experience. In fact, the 2017 U.S. Reputation Dividend Report calls reputation a “cornerstone of corporate value” and quantifies the dividend that corporations…
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Can PR people do right by doing wrong? Or at least by breaking with convention? In any business there are rules — spoken and unspoken. Yet, sometimes, if you muster the nerve to color outside the lines, you can achieve more than you thought. Here are some examples of times when I broke the PR…
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It’s fascinating when a company’s public relations gets ahead of its reality. Any strategic PR or marketing plan should emphasize an organization’s strengths and rebut weaknesses and threats, but there’s such a thing as too much hype. This is particularly true in the tech sector. Case in point: WeWork. The Gizmodo headline, “WeWork To Delay…
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