Stories by Anne Green

Today we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Women’s Equality Day, marking a century since women won the right to vote via the 19th Amendment. It’s prudent to temper the celebration and recognize that the vestiges of inequality persist. The author offers examples of how PR can attack current instances of inequality.

In this difficult moment, veteran communicator Marc Whitt offers a pep talk to fellow PR pros. He compares PR work to a craft and concludes that like a stonemason, the communicator’s reward is personal. It’s knowing that you’ve done your job well and that its benefits may last for years.

Should you defer media training owing to the pandemic’s restrictions on travel and social distancing? While it’s a bit trickier during COVID-19, and in-person coaching is best, technology workarounds exist, our author, a former TV journalist, argues.

The media market was changing before the pandemic hit. Some of those changes have accelerated or slowed as a result of the novel coronavirus. How should PR pros approach the next few months and the years after that? Our author offers three trends to consider.

Engaging content can not exist in a vacuum. It must respond to the times that created it, argues Thomas Gillespie, a PR pro fresh from an internship. In an age where politics, culture, entertainment and mass movements merge, PR pros must be quick, thorough and compassionate. They must lead the conversation, not react to it.

PR measurement need not be expensive or difficult. Moreover, with data proliferating in the digital environment, PR needs to measure its effort and demonstrate value. NRPR chief Nicole Rodrigues offers a review of measurement basics.

Agencies on the list represent a wide range of both industry specializations and core capabilities. They specialize in crisis communication, media relations, reputation management and public affairs to digital communications, social media, content creation and everything in between.

In a clawback that is considered highly unusual, McDonald’s sued its former CEO to recoup millions from his November 2019 departure package. Our authors contend the brand’s lawsuit signals a new chapter in how companies will approach PR crises in the era of #MeToo and Black Lives Matter.

Well-known publications with large circulation figures and numerous unique visitors to their online sites seem attractive targets for generating sales leads. However, placement in publications with small, targeted readerships might be a better route to generating leads and proving PR’s value.

When we build a company without brand standards, the result can sound like a person speaking a language we can’t understand.  Unfortunately, neither can customers.  Building standards is akin to creating a language that explains our brand. Unfortunately, sometimes we make this relatively simple process too difficult. A quartet of veteran communicators and marketers break down branding into small segments.