Digital & Technology

PR agencies are working on tools and processes to curb the spread of disinformation. PR trade groups and agencies recognize disinformation as an issue that clouds their clients’ messaging. Recently Ruder Finn and Edelman joined the ranks of those offering tools to combat disinformation and identify sources of some of the noise.

There are few issues more important to organizations than disinformation, cyber crime, breaches and hacks. Communicators can contribute to the fight against these scourges by keeping one thing in mind: Know your audience. With that knowledge, it’s easier to spot aberrant behavior, which may indicate a disinformation effort.

 While we lack data on it, we’ll guess that with so many employees working from home since the start of the pandemic, the already-sparse scheduling of desktop crisis drills has contracted even more. One of the characteristics of crisis is an uncanny ability to arrive according to its schedule, not yours. As a result, a PR crisis strikes when the CEO is in a remote part of China negotiating a deal or the COO is on a ski vacation in Aspen and has gone off the grid. As such, the most realistic crisis-readiness exercises, pre-pandemic and now, were and are conducted with staff situated in various locations.

The pandemic has changed many parts of our lives, yet something that vexed senior leaders one year ago is a constant: Can you engage employees, sustain a corporate culture and encourage innovation in a largely remote world? Ruder Finn CEO Kathy Bloomgarden offers ideas to promote innovative thinking and connectedness when most if not all employees are WFH.

Though PR service companies are underrepresented in our industry’s history, they are responsible for much innovation in the sector. In fact, a few services companies date back to the late 1800s. Let’s look at some of the people behind these successful businesses that helped shape PR.

It seems safe for communicators to assume live events won’t return, at best, before late summer or Q4. That leaves some eight to nine months for companies to continue to stage virtual activities, including trade shows, press conferences, media interviews and other events.

Flexibility requires brands to treat the holidays a bit differently than in years past. With more families staying home to avoid the COVID-19 spread, ecommerce has become the buying method of choice. How can brands stand out in a sea of online options? Creative content can help. 

Society’s reliance on digital technology during the pandemic is prompting the transition of PR into Intelligent Relations, a research associate from Cyprus argues. As a result, PR will invest more in social-listening techniques and other digital tools. In addition, PR will expand the limits of behavioral analysis and employ the advantages of automated production and personalized content.

It’s not just campaign season for presidential electoral candidates. It’s also a very creative time for brands getting involved with election-themed campaigns. Without playing politics many brands have taken advantage of the nation-wide event, which only occurs once every four years in the United States. 

New York City became a national epicenter of COVID-19 in April 2020. The government closed non-essential businesses, employees worked from home and living rooms became classrooms. New campaigns seemed unfathomable. And yet, some construction projects continued. Here’s how BerlinRosen shifted messages for One Vanderbilt, the city’s newest skyscraper, to reflect New Yorkers’ resilience during the pandemic.