Stories by Nicole Schuman

At PRNEWS, we thought about how to utilize Slack to connect our readership and community. How could we leverage the relationships we’ve built with amazing contacts to benefit those outside of our circle, and bolster an entire community? And with that, we created the PR and Communications Pros Slack group.

This year’s Agency Elite Awards winners will be announced at PRNEWS’ Top Places to Work and Agency Elite Awards luncheon, Nov. 21 at the Yale Club in New York City. The awards denote excellence in PR agencies’ key practice areas, from community relations, thought leadership and social media to integrated communications, branding and business to business messaging.

Messages now flood our digital channels, and these messages are usually drawn from experience. Morning Consult released a new survey on influencer marketing that found 61 percent of participants are likely to support and talk about brands they love, without—get this—being paid. Without any brand prodding or pushing, consumers have become a public relations channel for companies. And hopefully, most of what they are saying is good news.

Airbnb gives users a lot of freedom. It allows people to become entrepreneurs and host strangers in their homes. In addition, travelers can forgo expensive and occasionally bland hotels for the comforts of home, or the adventures of living as a local. But with freedom comes responsibility. After a tragic event occurred at one of its host properties, the company worked quickly to limit the PR damage.

ost consumers get a little boost when they learn the brands they support practice an element of social good. Corporate Social Responsibility, affectionately referred to in the communications world as CSR, provides an organization with the opportunity to give back and make a difference. As the entry deadline for the 2020 PRNEWS Nonprofit/CSR Awards looms, we take a look at several past winners who really leaned into the mission of creating change.

Top Places to Work and Agency Elite Awards keynoter Deirdre Breakenridge, CEO of Pure Performance Communications, and PRNEWS content manager, Nicole Schuman, sat down for a discussion regarding Breakenridge’s research on emotional intelligence. They also covered how the infusion of empathy can improve communications efforts not only in the office, but throughout an overall brand strategy.

At the PRNEWS Measurement Boot Camp on Oct. 17, representatives from Edelman Intelligence, Prudential, AMEC (the International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication), APCO, UTC, and Paine Publishing urged communicators to eschew vanity metrics and metrics in isolation. They also expounded on the importance of measuring data that aligns with your company’s business goals and presenting data conclusions in clear and concise ways.

And while the digital plane constantly evolves, the high standards to which creative messaging resonates on a technological level, does not. The 2019 Digital Awards brought out the best in the business, honoring winners that speak on a global level. PRNEWS hosted the breakfast event on Oct. 18 at New York City’s storied Yale Club, set in the heart of Manhattan.

In an interesting twist, Uber announced the launch of a new app, for the gig-economy, starting in Chicago. Some may see this as a sign of getting back to its roots. Uber Works will allow temporary workers to search for jobs in bartending, stocking and cleaning, amongst others.

Regardless of a settlement, MGM still needs to repair its reputation—not only with the people of Vegas, but America as a whole. It’s easy to throw money at a problem and walk away, but the sting of the initial reaction by MGM after the shootings will never be forgotten.