Latest Posts

Yesterday (Oct. 17) we wrote about the worsening reputation of USA Gymnastics (USAG). That post is updated with more bad news involving USAG. A former USAG president was arrested Oct. 18 for obstructing Texas’ investigation into Dr. Larry Nassar’s alleged crimes at the Karolyi Ranch. Our Oct. 17 post is updated with information about the arrest.

On the surface, this effort to give Senator Warren’s claims factual support seemed like an artfully executed campaign. Later that day, though, it became clear that the DNA test had done more harm than good. Senator Warren’s gaffe amounts to lessons learned for communicators about timing, why mixing heritage into your outreach strategies can be a dangerous game, and how to take cultural stand without angering any constituency of people.

Communicators in the CSR and sustainability space often need to be opportunistic as they search for ways to build their programs. Using the United Nations General Assembly as an example, Judith Rowland of FleishmanHillard provides tips communicators can use to leverage opportunities at large meetings of public and private leaders.

Having just a few extra minutes to monitor a situation can mean the difference between good and bad crisis management. The so-called assessment moment is at the crux of a free report from PR News and DataMinr, a real-time information discovery company.

Since he took office, President Trump has managed to sidestep the expectations typically placed on leaders in how they present themselves to the media. Though he may receive criticism from those who disagree with his policies, he has retained ardent supporters, while many CEOs are stepping down for infractions like a flubbed statement or a poorly-handled crisis response. Trump might be an anomaly in that fashion, but he also provides some valuable insights—both positive and negative—into how communicators and their senior leaders can deal with the media.

CEOs and board members spend much time worrying about and discussing risks to growth, though a new study from Deloitte indicates they lack strategic plans to counter the risks they’ve identified, such as disruptive technologies and cyber events, which lead the list. The study also shows brand reputation and culture are receiving too little attention.

It’s still tough for some American communicators to tell just what all of this means for us, at least until we start to see some consequences from GDPR’s enforcement. Those consequences will arrive by end of year in the form of sanctions, though, according to European Data Protection Supervisor Giovanni Buttarelli.

It’s obvious that the professional life of a communicator is harried. That’s why we’re always looking for the latest technology to make us more efficient. Yet sometimes doing things without the speed technology affords might result in better work. A PR pro finds using pen and paper to write first drafts is superior to working on a computer.

Regulators already are calling for an investigation into why a Google+ data breach that was discovered in March was made public only this week. Google claims the breach was minor and did not warrant sending an alert to users, though the data of 500,000 might have been compromised. A Google blog post, though, seems to want to hide the data breach, too, creating bad optics for the company.

Lawsuits are a part of doing business, which is what makes litigation PR such a crucial part of the overall communications industry and part of every brand’s communications strategy.

But now it’s happening to your brand. You know a suit is being released publicly later today. It’s potentially damaging.

So, what should you do?