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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When is a boycott more than just PR? What makes it work? Recent reports of a slowdown in SoulCycle’s business made me wonder about the staying power of customer boycotts. Why do most fade while others gain traction and even force change? If you missed it, famous SoulCycle fans were outraged when billionaire Stephen Ross,…
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We’re hearing a lot about how automation and machine learning can make our lives easier, as well as how they may threaten our livelihoods in the future. Even in PR, an occupation that’s known as hard to scale and relatively labor-intensive, there are new opportunities to automate large parts of what we do. Entrepreneur and…
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The recent move by the Business Roundtable to redefine corporate priorities by emphasizing value beyond shareholder profits is the latest indicator that corporate reputation’s importance is on the rise. The statement supporting “stakeholder value” is also a good sign for public relations professionals who preach corporate responsibility or even strategic activism in U.S. corporate boardrooms….
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According to most people who work at PR agencies, especially tech firms, using the phone for media conversations is outdated. Hardly anyone thinks it’s useful to follow up, or worse, actually pitch a story by phone. PR pundits insist that phone calls will not earn you many friends, and at best it’s a waste of…
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It’s always instructive when PR teams entrusted with managing the reputations of major corporations run into reputation problems of their own. But it’s downright disturbing when it happens to one that presumes to lead our industry. Mega-agency Edelman recently made waves by resigning a lucrative engagement working with for-profit corrections company The GEO Group, a…
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As the influence of digital and social media has soared, PR agencies who focus primarily on earned media (once known as publicity) are often warned that they’re falling behind. There are regular calls for PR services to include paid media and other offerings. Many firms like to brag about how little they depend on earned…
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The past five years or so have seen drastic changes in the media and cultural landscape that impact PR and marketing. Challenges for PR practitioners include a faster-than-ever news cycle and what seems like constant political and cultural controversy. Combine that with an erosion of faith in government and private institutions, and it can make…
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As a profession, public relations evokes images of media pitching or crisis management. But according to the 2018 USC Annenberg Center for Public Relations Global Communications Report, writing is the skill most valued by PR recruiters. That makes sense; persuasion is fueled by artful storytelling, and despite the growth of video, many stories are still…
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As the national holiday approaches, it’s a fitting time to consider the importance of independence in the world of PR agencies. For years, advertising and PR firms have touted their “independent” status. But what does that really mean? One thing might be faster growth. In our industry independent agencies have grown at a brisk clip…
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“Strategy” is an overused word, but in public relations or marketing, it’s a key to success. Without the right PR strategy, a program can fall short or even fail spectacularly. Casual observers of the many ways PR generates earned media, like jumping on a breaking story, might conclude that planning isn’t a priority. Some PR…
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A high-impact PR program can be a technology company’s greatest asset – provided it’s well conceived and skillfully executed. In today’s frothy tech market, where the venture dollars are flowing and 32 new unicorns were created last year, PR can be a strategic weapon. Good will and strong community relations are also in demand as…
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In today’s fragmented media environment, the scarcest commodity for any marketing or PR pro is customer attention. That’s why engaging users and relationship marketing is so fascinating – and so elusive. Too many brands have outsourced their customer relationships to influencers like celebrities for hire. Influencers are effective, but how much more powerful are real,…
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Boeing’s PR crisis deepened this week as a fuller picture emerged of its handling of serious problems surrounding the 737 Max. With the release of audio from a tense November 2018 meeting between the American Airlines pilots’ union and Boeing executives – after the Lion Air crash but before the Ethiopian Airlines accident – the…
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Alexa, will technology change the public relations industry? It already has, of course. We use data analytics to inform our campaigns and to measure campaign outcomes like message delivery or perception change. Social listening and media monitoring is key for many programs, and PR pros have used email marketing for years, even for targeted media…
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There are all types of PR problems, but one of the most troubling is the public relations program that just isn’t generating traction, or one where outcomes fall short of expectations by the client or PR agency. What happened, and what are the best mid-course corrections? Here are some of the most likely mistakes. Fuzzy…
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In the ideal world a PR program has room for everything — a robust media relations component, branded content, strategic events, influencer outreach, and possibly borrowed-interest tactics that ramp up news during slow periods. But in the real world, budgets can be lean, or maybe they’re subject to change. Here are ways to squeeze the…
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When the college admissions cheating and bribery scandal broke nearly a month ago, two names led the headlines. More than 50 people were implicated, but actors Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman were featured in every article. Both actors’ spouses were mentioned, and as a social influencer, Loughlin’s daughter Olivia Jade was also drawn into the…
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In its business and in its PR, Apple has had a golden touch. For a decade sales have climbed along with profits, and its reputation for innovation has flourished. Until recently, that is. iPhone sales started slowing several years ago, but no one seemed to mind or even notice much because prices kept going up,…
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Public relations is hot. Businesses from tech startups to nonprofits have come to recognize the value of a strategic PR campaign executed by a talented team. But PR’s popularity has given rise to some misconceptions. Here’s what every business person, from marketers to CEOs, should know about public relations. It can’t replace marketing Occasionally a…
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For PR professionals, it’s interesting when a particular company or public figure is said to have a “PR problem.” Of course the term is used as shorthand, but it can signal that brand-watchers are misdiagnosing what’s really wrong. “Bad PR” generally means negative media coverage, but the coverage is often a symptom rather than the…
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An “off-the-record” conversation with a journalist can sound mysterious or complex, but in PR it’s a very effective tool. Whether you’re providing candid background about a frustrating trend in your industry or trying to blunt the impact of a coming story about your organization, off-the-record interactions with reporters can deliver benefit for your brand, even…
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YouTube was hit with a major brand safety crisis this week after a blogger revealed that a community of predators have been using the platform to view content in inappropriate ways that exploit children. In the wake of the scandal, some of YouTube’s biggest advertisers, including Disney and AT&T, have pulled the plug on their ad spend –…
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Big Tech’s reputation has taken a beating lately. Facebook’s clumsy handling of its data privacy scandals has been a PR and government relations disaster. Apple always had a love-hate relationship with the press but was admired for its innovation. Recently it has lost that luster, and the bizarre FaceTime bug dented its status as a…
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For PR people, the Gillette ad that roiled social media and birthed a thousand thought pieces raises an old question – is there such a thing as bad publicity? Normally when a company manages to generate international attention and earn millions of views for a brand message, it’s a win. Certainly the controversy has been…
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Any good public relations agency should want to have an open conversation about what clients can expect for their investment. And most do. They’re hoping for a productive meeting and a solid start to what they expect will be a long and successful partnership. But even the best agencies don’t always spill the tea at…
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For public relations and reputation experts, it’s easy to point out the brands and personalities who mishandled bad news or missed opportunities after public mistakes. Our list of the PR losers of the past 12 months is out, but what about the good news stories of the year? Here are my nominations for the best, most…
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