PR Insiders

Each year, PR News celebrates its list of Top Women in PR, an elite group of communications professionals who have spearheaded highly successful campaigns in recent months. They’ve also mentored colleagues and ideated some of the most creative PR plans in the business. So, what does it take to be a Top Woman in PR? We sat down with 2019 Top Woman honoree Adriana Arvizo, external communications manager at Comcast, to find out.

There’s good news and bad news with AI. The technology is permeating and its uses are limitless. Unfortunately, the market is flooded both with brands using AI and communicators overusing the word AI. If everyone’s a leader in AI, nobody is. Here are tips and best practices for communicators to employ that will help you craft effective messages about AI.

Admit it, we all know Girl Scout cookies. On the other hand, do we know the important role Girl Scouts play in encouraging young girls to become interested in science, math and technology? Do we appreciate the organization’s history? As the Boy Scouts rebrands and accepts girls in its ranks, the Girl Scouts must respond. Rebranding is the organization’s best way forward.

Earned media often is dismissed as time-consuming and old-fashioned. Yet amplifying earned media hits with a rabid fan base can be a highly effective PR tactic. Just ask the team at Schitt’s Creek. The comedy series from tiny Pop TV has ridden earned media to four Emmy nominations. Go get some free media.

Despite what you might have heard, most journalists are not out to get you or your brand’s executives. On the other hand, just because content creators are nice people, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be prepared for an interview. Veteran PR pro and former journalist Arthur Solomon offers tips PR pros can use to ensure that interviews go smoothly.

With tonight’s Platinum PR Awards, PRNEWS’ most prestigious honors, we revisit a 2017 Platinum Hall of Fame inductee, Let’s Win! Pancreatic Cancer. Finn Partners’ Gil Bashe and John Bianchi write that Let’s Win! continues to do great work, though pancreatic cancer is spreading fast. A massive effort is needed to tame this scourge.

It’s one of the dirty little secrets of PR: Internal communications is vital to the smooth operation of a company, yet it’s often the last to be given consideration. Early fall is a perfect time to shine up your internal communications efforts.

With another presidential debate tonight, Democrats should should embrace lessons from American pop culture and PR, a former celebrity magazine editor and current PR pro argues. With a reality star in the White House, it’s the campaign strategy that will give the Democrats a fighting chance.

Working on communications for a startup has its joys and issues. Veteran startup PR pro Shana Starr offers guidance for the communicator who’s just stepping into the startup space. She recommends extensive research, which will inform a solid media relations plan and help PR pros position a startup in the market.

Interns can contribute to your PR effort, hurt it or be inconsequential. The key to a successful internship program, argues PR pro Michelle Mekky, is to treat interns with respect, have enough work and guidance for them and avoid viewing interns as cheap labor.