Stories by Taylor Voges, Sara Ervin, Solyee Kim, and Jeong Hyun (Janice) Lee, PhD Students, Crisis Communication Coalition Research Group, University of GA

At a time when diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) should be the norm in organizations, it is not. A new survey from the University of Georgia (UGA) and PRNEWS shows a consistent shortfall on diversity-related efforts.

Marketing and communication professionals gathered virtually Tuesday to celebrate the winners and honorable mentions for the PRNEWS CSR & Diversity Awards, which mark excellence across people, teams and campaigns. Here are this year’s winners.

There are few issues more important to organizations than disinformation, cyber crime, breaches and hacks. Communicators can contribute to the fight against these scourges by keeping one thing in mind: Know your audience. With that knowledge, it’s easier to spot aberrant behavior, which may indicate a disinformation effort.

There’s no time like spring to take a fresh look at cleaning the homestead and your communication tactics and strategies. Consider what’s working and things that need tweaking or a deep-cleaning, such as dusty media lists or social posts that haven’t aged well.

Making sustainability part of your company’s culture and communications can seem daunting. Right or wrong, some consumers are demanding organizations promote sustainable practices. On Earth Day, we offer ideas and tips that can help get you started.

“Sticky” crises require near-immediate response and might compel crisis managers to explore and understand emerging crises’ breadth and scope. These additional complexities and communication demands influence the way crisis managers prepare for crises. Leadership requirements during sticky crises and diversity were some of the areas examined in a survey from Crisis Insider parent PRNEWS and UGA’s Crisis Communication Coalition. More than 400 PR pros were surveyed in early spring 2021. We provide several highlights.

Companies and communicators require data to gain insight about consumers. In theory, the rise in online shopping during the pandemic should be a boon for data gathering. The reality is more complicated, especially as consumers rebel against ‘data stealing’ and Google, among others, is set to better protect browsing history. Still, there are options to gather data transparently and insights gained have never been more important.

The pandemic has changed many parts of our lives, yet something that vexed senior leaders one year ago is a constant: Can you engage employees, sustain a corporate culture and encourage innovation in a largely remote world? Ruder Finn CEO Kathy Bloomgarden offers ideas to promote innovative thinking and connectedness when most if not all employees are WFH.

The odds seem long for Rep. Matt Gaetz to clear his name and reputation, although this story changes daily. His task is not impossible, though. If Gaetz beats the allegations, he can restore his reputation by focusing on the basics of crisis response and strategic communication.

Deb Hileman outlines her top 15 fundamental principles of crisis management for communicators to keep top of mind.