Lego Builds On Sustainability: The toy giant said last week it plans to invest $150 million during the next 15 years to make its plastic building blocks in a more sustainable way. It’s the company’s latest move to reduce its carbon footprint—and boost its “public” relations in the process. Last October LEGO said it would end a 50-year relationship with Shell—LEGO products are sold in Shell gas stations—after the company was criticized about the oil giant’s Arctic drilling, according to news reports. LEGO confirmed it will let the contract expire, but no word when that happens. In 2013, the company started a partnership with WWF, the environmental group, to develop a plan for making its materials more sustainably. The moves should help LEGO’s reputation when it comes to protecting the environment. As with any sustainability effort, though, the challenge for LEGO is how to communicate the changes and let people know about how they will benefit their lives.
Instagram Sharpens Focus on Search: The photo- and video-sharing site last week announced what it called major updates: a revamped Explore page and the ability to search for people, places and hashtags. The new Explore page features photos and videos related to trending hashtags and places, in real-time. The new Places Search enables users to look at just about any location on Earth. The service seems to want to make it easier for people to find content; the rub for PR pros is to produce a steady stream of photos related to their products and services.
What Do Influencers Want From You? Topping the list: Boosting their reach and growing their audience. That’s according to the second annual study on the State of Influencer Engagement. Conducted by the software company Augure, the study surveyed more than 600 marketing and communication professionals in 30 sectors. While influencers and bloggers often are paid to work with companies on branding and other efforts, money is not their biggest motivation (see chart below). Communicators working with influencers may need to redouble their efforts to ensure that the content they work on together is something influencers can be proud of and makes them want to establish a long-term relationship with your company.
PR Movers: Weber Shandwick The agency appointed Chris Perry (pictured, above) as Chief Digital Officer, a newly created role. Formerly president of digital communications, Perry will help accelerate the agency’s digital business and continue to serve as global chair of Mediaco, its content consulting and publishing practice. Weber also appointed Bradford Williams chair of its Global Technology practice. He served as acting general manager of the agency’s San Francisco and Silicon Valley offices in 2013 and 2014. In addition, Weber Shandwick appointed Ian Cohen global executive producer and president, content creation and innovation; Adam West executive VP, digital operations and client services, North America; and Cheryl Cook senior channel strategist, North AmericaPortland named Sebastian Schwark director and head of its New York office. He joins Portland from Hill+Knowlton Strategies, where he worked on reputation management and employee communications...Newlink America, an Hispanic communications agency, has named Lisette Hoyo as its newly appointed senior VP of client services. Prior to joining Newlink America, Hoyo served as executive VP of client services for Republica. Editor’s Note: PR News will not publish July 6, in honor of Independence Day. We will return July 13. Happy 4th!Source: State of Influencer Engagement, Augure
This article originally appeared in the June 29, 2015 issue of PR News. Read more subscriber-only content by becoming a PR News subscriber today.