Latest Posts

Pizza Wars: Attack of the Papa John’s Competitors

November 3rd, 2017 by

When Papa John’s blamed its declining sales on the issue of NFL players kneeling during the national anthem, many found the correlation hard to believe. DiGiorno Pizza saw the opportunity to call them out for it on Twitter and did not hold back, while Pizza Hut subtly thrust itself into the spotlight.

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Another Flap for Twitter After Trump Account Blackout

November 3rd, 2017 by

A difficult week for Twitter continued with an 11-minute shutdown of President Trump’s Twitter account. What steps Twitter plans to take to prevent another hijacking of the most influential Twitter account in the U.S. remain to be seen.

Walmart, Uber, Home Depot Caught in the Crossfire of a Violent Week

November 2nd, 2017 by

As so often happens when a violent tragedy strikes and claims human lives, brands were taken along for the sad and sobering ride this week. As the usual questions about gun control and immigration arise for America, questions arise as well for Walmart, The Home Depot and Uber about what and how they should communicate to their stakeholders to reassure and to help.

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PR Advice for Hillary Clinton After Brazile Report in Politico

November 2nd, 2017 by

By now, nearly everyone in Washington, D.C., has heard about the seemingly damaging article in this morning’s Politico. Former DNC chair Donna Brazile writes that she has solid proof that the Hillary Clinton campaign rigged the party’s nomination. The question for PR pros, of course, is what advice would you offer to Hillary Clinton now? Should she contest the article, hold a press conference, release a statement or remain silent?

Lessons for PR During Journalism’s Bad Week

November 1st, 2017 by

It’s been a bad stretch for journalism as several top-flight writers and editors have been brought down due to sexual harassment charges. As journalists and PR professionals are part of the same milieu, it’s an unhappy moment for communicators, too. Still, PR pros have jobs to do. There are several lessons they should take from the incidents of the past few weeks.

5 Key Questions to Ask Before Creating Your Measurement Dashboard

November 1st, 2017 by

Therese Van Ryne, head of global PR and the global customer reference program at Zebra Technologies, shares five key questions that a PR or marketing pro needs to ask before setting up a dashboard that effectively evaluates your campaign performance or share of voice.

Spooktacular Marketing: 3 Brands That Are Killing It This Halloween

October 31st, 2017 by

While Halloween is always a boon for candy and costume makers—and, tangentially, dentists—many brands have done a scary good job of capitalizing on the holiday this year. Here are three hair-raising examples, including Burger King’s “It”-inspired clip and a spine-tingling and inspired Snapchat filter from Netflix.

4 Key PR Trends to Watch in 2018

October 31st, 2017 by

With 2017 virtually in the rearview mirror I thought it would be good time to sit down over a couple of Cobb salads with Katie Creaser, SVP at agency Affect and a longtime friend of PR News, and talk about the trends that’ll have the greatest impact on PR practitioners next year. Here’s just one: Expect an acceleration of brand crises in news cycles, and for all brands to continue to lose control over the narrative in a crisis.

The Week In PR

October 31st, 2017 by

Our weekly roundup of news, trends and personnel moves in communications and marketing. This week’s edition features stories about Kevin Spacey’s poorly crafted apology and Mark Halperin’s fairly good one. We also look at offensive art on a cereal box and a big personnel move on the agency side in Washington, D.C.

Week 3 of #MeToo: Spacey and Halperin’s Contrasting Apologies Get Added to the Stack

October 30th, 2017 by

Spacey was accused of a forceful sexual advance by actor Anthony Rapp, who was 14 at the time. Halperin was accused by 12 women of sexual assault and harassment during his tenure as political director at ABC News. Their statements differ in some very important ways.