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Chances are we wouldn’t be writing this post had British PR firm Bell Pottinger’s demise yesterday remained a story limited to Europe and Africa. Unfortunately for the reputation of the PR industry here and abroad, Bell… Continued

There’s nothing like doing PR for a much-anticipated, star-studded event, such as the Mayweather-McGregor fight. What about when you’re asked to get people riled about seemingly mundane issues such as the country’s infrastructure? Here are a few tactics PR pros can employ that will help make un-sexy issues seem far more relevant to average citizens.

With brands creating content without going through media channels, is the art of pitching stories dead? It just might be more alive than ever, our author argues, although he admits pitchers will need to adapt some of their tactics slightly.

With employees taking stands on political issues and urging their companies to do the same, what contribution can communicators make to keeping a brand’s reputation unblemished by political turmoil? Our author provides 5 steps that communicators can take to put their company in a position to receive limited negative public attention, minimize business impact and reputation damage.

The cruise ship industry is often on the wrong end of crisis communications, but Hurricane Irma has given Royal Caribbean the chance to show its humanitarian side, even as it deals with pressing customer service issues on social media. The Miami-based company is mobilizing four of its ships to help people in need with food, water and other supplies, in coordination with the federal government as well as local governments in St. Thomas and St. Maarten.

Marking any tragedy, let alone one of the most tragic events to happen in the history of the United States, is not a time to make it “all about you.” For your average brand, the only time it is a good idea to insert yourself into the message is if you have something of value to offer that is intrinsic to the brand (and you have a clear-eyed perspective on what “value” means to the public).

On the surface, Equifax seemed to respond to its data breach in textbook fashion. It issued an apology both in writing and in a video. The brand also set up a web site where consumers could check if their data had been compromised. A deeper dive, though, shows Equifax may have committed several costly errors in terms of crisis response. An early lesson from Equifax’s crisis is that merely having a crisis plan is not enough. Execution of the plan is critical, too.

We’ve all read stories of an angry customer tweeting at an airline or a restaurant because they had a bad experience. But social customer care is about so much more than just dealing with irate customers, says Brandi Boatner, a digital experience manager with IBM. We recently sat down with Boatner during a Facebook Live session to pick her brain on how social customer care is evolving—and how IBM is using artificial intelligence to bolster the process.

As of 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 7, Miami Mayor Carlos Gimenez had expanded mandatory evacuation orders for all residents of Zones A, B and C in advance of Hurricane Irma’s landfall in the area, which… Continued

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.