Stories by Justin Joffe

This past December at PRNEWS’ Media Relations conference in Washington, D.C., Toner talked about the changing world of Media Relations in a digital landscape, why a multi-channel approach incorporating both marketing and PR is the path to making it happen, and how to make your multi-channel game seamless.

At PRNEWS, we’ve looked at impressive branded holiday swag, and gifts for PR pros. But when it comes to really feeling warm, fuzzy, and full of mirth, there’s nothing better than a PR campaign with takeaways for you, our readers. So put down the eggnog and indulge us as we look at holiday PR campaigns that fill us with cheer.

In the true spirit of this holiday, we are reminded that giving back need not only happen on Thanksgiving proper. Several companies have leaned into giving back before, and after, Turkey Day. Here are some examples of social good initiatives we can all be thankful for.

Every December, in the midst of holiday celebration, PRNEWS hosts our annual PR People & Rising Stars awards. While we certainly consider all of our awards shows to be feel-good events, there’s something extra special about this one. Celebrating the actual people who make the campaigns run, put out the crisis fires and lead their teams to success, along with the rising stars under 30 who are coming up fast, takes on an added significance during this festive season of togetherness.

The 2019 Top Places to Work & Agency Elite Awards highlighted the best agencies, communicators and campaigns in the business, honoring those that set a high watermark with inclusive workplace culture and future-focused campaigns. PRNEWS hosted the luncheon Nov. 21 at New York City’s storied Yale Club, in the heart of Manhattan. 

Ahead of her session on day two of our 2019 Media Relations Conference (Dec. 12-13 in Washington, DC), we caught up with Lauren Lawson-Zilai of Goodwill. She discuss how it scaled its influencer program to empower local community nonprofits to recruit influencers, setting a model for how other small nonprofits can activate influencers and brand ambassadors in the process.

South Dakota’s PR campaign around the state’s methamphetamine epidemic accomplished what it set out to do—create awareness around a state-wide health crisis. But the play on words, “Meth. We’re on it,” superimposed over pictures of teens, farmers and older women, also ignited a debate about the high cost of quick-won awareness, and whether it’s true that “there’s no such thing as bad PR.”

Last week, Uber reported $1 billion in losses, despite its third-quarter results beating estimates. This week, an angry social media mob reacted to Khosrowshahi’s comments by keeping the #BoycottUber hashtag trending all of Monday, dragging out many of the company’s skeletons in the process. For PR pros, the latest round of calls to #BoycottUber also contains many lessons around what constitutes good, and bad, investor relations. Here’s what we learned.

We can’t wait for our 2020 Crisis and Measurement Summit, taking place February 25-26 at Miami’s Downtown Hilton. Sure, maybe part of that has to do with the idea of flying down south for the winter. But moreover, we were thrilled to see such a turnout at this past February’s inaugural crisis summit—a sellout crowd that flocked to Miami Beach for two days of real talk about every stage in crisis prep and recovery. Ahead of this year’s summit, let’s look back on a few takeaways that changed the way we, and our audience, think about measuring, communicating, and staffing around a crisis. 

On November 4th, Apple announced a massive initiative intended to combat the housing crisis in California. The $2.5 billion plan not only marks a larger investment than Google’s previously announced $1 billion effort to combat the California housing crisis, but goes into much greater detail than Google’s initiative around how, exactly, those funds will be allocated. Apple’s ownership of its role in contributing to—and remedying—this crisis offers lessons for brands hoping to take on a social good program with substance.