Stories by Nicole Schuman

Much like people, brands and organizations can find themselves in a funk, putting out the same messaging year after year, which, while reliable, can lose the attention of a fickle populace. 

Societal unrest during the summer of 2020 led many businesses to take a hard look at what they represented to their audiences in terms of diversity and inclusion. Since then we’ve seen many organizations make statements and promises to practice greater inclusivity on everything from hiring to campaign content and representation. Whether or not these promises resulted in real change remains to be seen.

PRNEWS Live welcomed Matthew and Tammy Tsang, co-founders of &Humanity, an inclusive marketing agency. We discussed the importance of diverse perspectives in messaging and communication.

“Trust” could easily win as an early word-of-the-year in 2021. After a deluge of misinformation campaigns through the 2020 presidential election, confusion from the top when it comes to battling COVID, and a recorded public skepticism for media, many organizations, brands and public figures see trust as a fundamental need to reconnect with communities. It’s a necessity in messaging, and it’s on communicators to figure out the best way to delive

On Jan. 21, The 19th, a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom, hosted a webinar with White House communications director Kate Bedingfield, White House press secretary Jen Psaki, principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and chief spokesperson for Vice President Harris, Symone Sanders. The group discussed its messaging strategy for the White House moving forward, touching on how female leadership can impact political communications.

Consumers have little patience these days for brand screw ups. With red-alert crisis hitting them every which-way in the news cycle, it doesn’t take much for someone to throw their hands up and be finished with a brand. This can be seen in many cases for sports fans. Most modern fans want to cheer on respectable organizations, and can do without outside distraction impacting their team’s possibility for success. 

PRNEWS welcomed Gil Bashe, Managing Partner, Global Health, at Finn Partners, to LinkedIn Live to discuss various messaging campaigns surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine.

COVID vaccine messaging is about to get another shot in the arm through the release of a new confidence campaign called “Because of This,” launching Tuesday. “Because of This” includes four PSAs which strive to remind Americans of the reasons for vaccination: the importance of our close, personal relationships. The ads include real people who provided personal footage for the campaign. 

After the insurrection acts at the United States Capitol this week, the importance of clear communication during a crisis was evident once again. Organizations and brands took to social media and the airwaves to release statements regarding their position on the situation.

For many Americans, the arrival of a second government stimulus check can’t come soon enough. The payments began arriving in eligible citizens’ bank accounts this week, but not all are available for immediate access, and that has some people very upset. On Jan. 4, many H&R Block customers took to social media to complain about delays in getting their stimulus check.