What the best PR does is amplify brand stories and messaging in ways that connect with the target audience, whether the brand defines that audience as pure consumer, professional or a hybrid. And think about what connection meant 40 years ago—if you weren’t connected via membership in a school club, a religious or professional organization, or at the very least to the households who shared your party phone line, then the extent of your connections would likely have been limited to family members, schoolmates and work colleagues.
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Three C’s Behind Coca-Cola’s Journey Into Brand Journalism
September 28th, 2016 by Steve GoldsteinEvery brand has a story to tell, says Doug Busk of Coca-Cola. While the mechanism may not be the size and scope of Journey, Coca-Cola’s digital magazine, brand-building for any organization type is a matter of leveraging the awesome opportunity of digital storytelling.
Clinton and Trump Stay True to Their Personal Brands in First Debate
September 27th, 2016 by Seth ArensteinBefore the debate, some “experts” were advising Republican candidate Donald Trump to tone down his usual blustery public speaking style to sway undecided voters. Some urged Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton to attack vociferously, shedding her calming image as a champion of the poor and the middle class and as an experienced governmental actor. Neither candidate listened to the so-called experts.
4 Reminders to Keep Your Media Pitches in Sync With the News Cycle
September 27th, 2016 by Sophie MaerowitzThere’s no surefire way to win media coverage for your brand, but strategic timing can help you avoid wasting hours of research and writing pitches that are routinely ignored by journalists. It pays to resist the pressure from senior leaders or clients to send that pitch right now and instead be a part of the news cycle’s ebb and flow.
Snapchat’s ‘Spectacles’ Put Company’s Vision of Itself in Sharper Focus
September 26th, 2016 by Mark RenfreeSnapchat is taking its first step out of the digital world and trying its luck in the hardware space, according to a blog post on the company’s website. Snapchat’s newest product, dubbed “Spectacles,” is a pair of sunglasses with a built-in camera that can shoot short videos and upload them directly to Snapchat.
The First Pillar Of Successful Start-Up Communications: Messaging
September 26th, 2016 by Lindsay Cosner, Gotham PRWith startups growing and, oh so often, failing fast, it is more important than ever that ingenuity and passions are partnered with PR prudence and a tight communications strategy. It all seems to boil down to two major thought pillars, under which all else falls: messaging and relationships. Understanding how to create a message and have the relationships that will make your message matter are the foundation to creating a successful communications strategy at a startup.
Consumer Engagement on Instagram Up 78% for B2C; Anastasia Beverly Hills Tops List
September 26th, 2016 by Seth ArensteinWith only this table of most-engaged B2C brands on Instagram for Q2 ’16 to guide you, one might conclude Instagrammers enjoy photos of cosmetics while quaffing coffee and energy drinks and decorating cakes. Seriously, it’s logical for cosmetics brands to dominate consumer engagement, or actions, on Instagram. A visual platform, Instagram was conceived to display photographs. Beauty is a visual business.
Brand Execs Say Integrated Communications Leads to Data Sharing and Digital Transformation
September 26th, 2016 by Seth ArensteinIntegration of communications and marketing is more than just a good thing to do, it’s critical to success in the digital age, a new report from The Conference Board says. The report is being sent to Conference Board members later this week. It was provided by The Conference Board exclusively to PR News Pro.
How Communicators Can Take the Fear Out of Going Live on Periscope and Facebook Live
September 26th, 2016 by Seth ArensteinWith White House aspirants and professional footballers live streaming, what are the best ways for brand communicators to take advantage of these live streaming tools? We asked communicators for insight about content strategy and content creation, selling these live (read “unpredictable”) tools to the C-suite, measuring effectiveness and working with influencers.
How Brands Can Avoid the Biggest Trap on Snapchat
September 26th, 2016 by Seth ArensteinLife is live, but so much of what we watch on screens is taped. For brands wanting to control their messages, avoiding in-the-moment tools would seem to make sense. Still, for brands there’s much to be gained by using Snapchat. With many brands getting started on Snapchat, and plenty timidly staying away, we asked Sarah Maloy, director of social media and external video at Fuse Media LLC, parent of national television network Fuse TV, to tell us of Snapchat traps to avoid.