Stories by Dorian Cundick

We are in the midst of a transitional period for communicators, where traditional skills no longer are cutting it. We need some guidance to forge ahead in our careers. In response to a widely expressed call for competency-building support, we identified the skills that are most critical for communications professionals given where things seem to be trending.

It’s one of the rich ironies of the digital age: Print media are shrinking, thinned out by the ongoing shift to online media channels. At the same time, PR and marketing agencies are starting to adopt many of the tenets that have fueled print media products for decades

Today’s communicators follow trends that lend themselves to stories about their brand or organization. Getting the media to bite is another matter, however. To increase your chance of landing a story with a reporter or editor is to think like one.

JCPenney’s decision to revive its print catalog is a stark reminder to PR pros that—despite the digital lurch throughout most business sectors—print remains a viable marketing tool.

Having a thorough understanding of an agency’s capabilities, approach, and methodology contributes to how expectations are set from the start. It’s critical to deliver on your promises and be direct if you think something won’t work as planned.

“The biggest risk I took in my career is also the first risk I took in my PR career: starting MWW. Prior to that, I had never worked at a PR agency. In fact, I had never stepped foot into one.”

Lisa Joy Rosner, CMO of Neustar, doesn’t mince words when describing the state of PR at the company when she took charge in May 2014.

A quartet of communicators chime on how social media is altering crisis management.

In a digital age, spontaneity rules. Social messages that are unscripted and on the fly help to humanize the brand. But messages that seem overly packaged are about as popular as the measles. It’s a different situation when giving a speech (or commenting) on behalf of the brand.

The 205 Edelman Trust Barometer shows that many people feel the pace of change in business is moving too fast. Conversely, nearly one-third of respondents believe the pace of change to be too slow. It’s a fine line that corporate communications navigate.