It’s not often we get a close-up look at how communicators handle crises. Brad Ross, executive director of communications for Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), takes us through a difficult week, day by day. In the end, TTC feels that being honest and transparent and apologizing will re-build the reputation hits it absorbs after a difficult week on the rails. It might take a little bit of time, though.
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Twitter’s in the Black But Flat, While Snap’s in the Red But Surging
February 8th, 2018 by Jerry AsciertoTwitter delivered a profitable quarter for the first time in its history, beating Wall Street’s expectations with fourth-quarter net income of $91 million. But the cheery news was tempered by the fact that its user growth is stagnant, and even falling in the U.S. Meanwhile, in a tale of two platforms, Snapchat is still bleeding money, yet its user base, particularly among Gen Z, is on the ascent.

2 Styles of Short-Form Content Helping PwC Cut Through the Clutter
February 8th, 2018 by Chris SeymourBy turning to short-form video via channels like Snapchat and Instagram Stories, brands can capture—and keep—the precious attention of their target audience. “As social feeds continue to be overwhelmed by a never-ending influx of content, brand storytellers must embrace a less-is-more approach,” says PwC’s Larissa von Lockner.

A 12-Point Checklist for Vetting Influencers
February 8th, 2018 by Steve GoldsteinLegendary Hollywood director John Huston was fond of saying that he didn’t direct actors—he cast them. He would cast actors because they were right for a particular role, and that judgment alone was the limit of his direction of their performances. You can apply this same approach to the ways in which your brand works with influencers. The bulk of the job is in finding and vetting the right influencers.

Jim Carrey Wants You to Dump Facebook. Crisis or Bad Day for Mark Zuckerberg?
February 7th, 2018 by Seth ArensteinComedian/actor Jim Carrey has begun a campaign to dump Facebook due to the company’s profiting off fake news and ads it sold to Russian agents during the U.S. presidential election. Part of Carrey’s beef is that Facebook still isn’t doing enough to stop it. He’s removed his Facebook page, given up his Facebook shares and urges concerned investors to do the same. Should Facebook consider Carrey’s actions a crisis or a bad day?

5 PR Views of the Stock Market Plunge
February 6th, 2018 by Jerry AsciertoA day after experiencing the biggest one-day point drop in its history, the Dow Jones Industrial Average continues its wild ride—and investor relations pros are likely working overtime to minimize the damage. So, how should communicators calm jittery stakeholders? We asked five communicators who specialize in investor relations and crisis communications how they’re approaching messaging during today’s stock market crisis.

4 Ways Machine Learning May Soon Solve (Some of Your) PR Problems
February 6th, 2018 by Sophie MaerowitzIf the fragmented media environment is a sick patient, machine learning may be the cure. That was the proposition Andrew Heyward, visiting scholar from MIT’s Media Laboratory and former president of CBS News, outlined in his presentation, “Can Robots Solve Your PR Problems?” at the New York offices of agency Makovsky on Feb. 6.

The Week in PR
February 6th, 2018 by Seth ArensteinOur weekly roundup of trends, news and personnel announcements in marketing and communications. This week we feature stories about the US Olympic Committee in the wake of the Dr. Larry Nassar case, Instagram finally allows brands to schedule posts and Jill Zuckman is promoted at SKDKnickerbocker.

How Ally Bank Intercepted Super Bowl LII for #BrandBowl Win
February 5th, 2018 by Sophie MaerowitzTo many of us the Super Bowl is about advertising, not football. Twitter launched a competition for Super Bowl LII with just those people in mind. Its inaugural #BrandBowl pitted Super Bowl advertisers against each other in various categories looking at the highest engagement across a given industry while the game aired. One category, #Interception, looked solely at brands without a Super Bowl ad that drove high engagement. The #Interception award winner, Ally Bank, had to cut through the online noise generated by some of the nation’s largest brands.

3 Super Bowl Ads That Gave Their Brands a PR Boost
February 5th, 2018 by Samantha WoodThe Super Bowl is one of the most highly anticipated annual events in popular culture. But for many people tuning in, the advertising breaks are every bit as compelling and competitive as the game itself. This year, ads from Tide, Amazon and the NFL won the day and gave their brands a lift, while Dodge Ram shot itself in the foot with a tone-deaf spot.