Stories by Steve Goldstein

At PR News’ Measurement Boot Camp in New York on Nov. 9, 2017, Shilpa Mehta, principal analytical lead, Google, discussed three common sins of “dashboarding”—these are missteps that would indicate the problems you’re having have less to do with built-in C-suite skepticism and more to do with your dashboards, despite your laser focus on meeting business challenges.

With 2017 virtually in the rearview mirror I thought it would be good time to sit down over a couple of Cobb salads with Katie Creaser, SVP at agency Affect and a longtime friend of PR News, and talk about the trends that’ll have the greatest impact on PR practitioners next year. Here’s just one: Expect an acceleration of brand crises in news cycles, and for all brands to continue to lose control over the narrative in a crisis.

ESPN’s social media guidelines boil down to “if you wouldn’t say it on our TV or website screens, don’t say it in social.” That leaves a lot of room for interpretation, especially in today’s highly charged climate, but it’s a rule of thumb most of us understand. We all know it’s much easier and safer to express fury and strong opinions on social media than it is to express them in face-to-face situations or on, say, national television. But still—there’s that gray area between personal expression in one’s own social media accounts and one’s responsibility to an employer.

Back in January 2015, it seemed like such sweet pairing: Dannon and NFL quarterback Cam Newton. Dannon had just made a deal to be the official yogurt of the NFL, and made a side deal with Newton, who would serve as the lead pitchman for Dannon’s new Oikos Triple Zero. What could possibly go wrong? Brands make deals with celebrities and influencers all the time, and we all know that once a deal is signed, the celebrity or influencer will be super, super careful not to do or say anything that might reflect badly on the brand.

Unlike Amazon, which began as an online bookstore and moved beyond that singular identity to become an online store for anything you could possibly want to buy—as well as a search engine and entertainment content producer—Twitter has stuck to its initial identity. Being just one thing is dangerous in a marketplace that keeps getting reshaped by advances in technology and changes in consumer habits.

Four of the people who’ve helped engineer the momentum toward research- and insights-based PR joined PR News on Thursday, Sept. 21, for a Twitter chat as part of AMEC’s annual Measurement Month. This was the fourth consecutive year PR News and AMEC have organized a Twitter chat featuring members of PR News’ Measurement Hall of Fame.

Brands have to be extremely sensitive about how they show support in times of crisis. It’s all too easy to come across as crass and opportunistic, despite the best of intentions. Airlines, though, are in a unique position when a natural disaster strikes. They can take real, life-changing action.

This is the eighth year PR News is including the Hall of Fame as part its PR News’ Platinum PR Awards. For the Hall of Fame, PR News’ editors select communications campaigns or initiatives that will likely be remembered for years to come because of their originality and unexpectedly large impact beyond their intended audiences.

We all knew that eventually brands and, in particular, CEOs, would reach a point where they would have to react publicly to a statement or action taken by an unfiltered president who is supremely skilled at lashing out at critics. Senior communications pros, take notice: Your CEO needs you.

PR News will announce the winners of its 2017 Agency Elite Awards at the annual Platinum PR & Agency Elite Awards luncheon at New York’s Grand Hyatt on Sept. 14, 2017. The Agency Elite Awards benchmark excellence in PR agencies’ key practice areas, from advocacy, crisis communications and social media to internal communications, media relations and reputation management.