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In our weekly feature about PR trends, C. Mondavi & Family VP Marketing Paul Englert tells us he’s seeing a blurring of the lines between PR, brand communications and social media. As we reach out to a younger audience, and as society continues to evolve the way it communicates, we need to evolve our communication strategies. Much of what we once shared via press release, direct email and phone now is sent via myriad social media platforms and text. Our consumer-facing print and web messages are evolving in acknowledgement of the immediacy and brevity with which people demand information from us.

In this weekly feature we ask PR pros to spot trends and discuss how they are reacting to them. In this edition we hear from Stephanie Elsea, VP, communications, Southwest Affiliate, American Heart Association.

A recap of the week’s news in PR, including announcements about people. The lead item looks at how Twitter might have found itself a good niche live streaming NFL Thursday Night games. Another item notes that Heather Bresch, CEO of EpiPen maker Mylan, this week will be in the hot-seat on Capitol Hill explaining how her company can justify raising prices of the life-saving device by some 400%.

It’s hardly a surprise for loyal Data Dive readers that video is one of the main ingredients driving consumer engagement for B2C and B2B brands. Media companies are catching on.
The latest evidence is BuzzFeed’s reorg, announced August 23, when founder Jonah Peretti told employees, “Having a single ‘video department’ in 2016 makes about as much sense as having a ‘mobile department’… as digital video becomes ubiquitous, every major initiative at BuzzFeed around the world will find an expression as video….”

Do hiring practices change when building a digital team? We asked ESPN’s Paul Melvin, senior director, communications, what he seeks in a digital hire. Here’s what he said: “I think people make a mistake if they hire for a ‘digital’ or ‘social’ communications role based on the idea that criteria are fundamentally different than what you look for in any communicator. I always look for the ability to write, passion, a combination of self-confidence and self-awareness, and emotional intelligence.

A look at the week that was in PR. This edition includes several Wells Fargo miscues and a poor showing from NBC Today host Matt Lauer during a presidential debate.

No doubt, the Olympics was good for Instagram. We told you last week how Shareablee data provided exclusively to PR News Pro showed consumer actions, or engagement, with B2B brands grew 50% August 5-17. Actions are the total of consumer likes, comments, shares and retweets. B2B brands had 1.8 million actions; B2C had 213 million.

The Olympics is not for the faint of heart. Never mind the athletes. Being a spectator or a sponsor requires as much grit and fortitude. I know. I just got back from watching my cousin, Caleb Paine, compete on the U.S. Sailing Team. For years, I observed the Olympics from the comfort of my living room, watching the celebration of human spirit and athleticism play out against what I assumed was a perfectly orchestrated spectacle, replete with major brands and a lot of media coverage. It’s not like that at all.

Is paid time off (PTO) a relic of the past? Should PR leaders abandon the concept? That doesn’t seem to be the ideal solution, especially when the benefits of vacation are well established. A Diamond Resorts International survey conducted by Nielsen found 71% of people who take a yearly vacation are satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs. Just 46% who fail to take a yearly vacation are satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs.

A roundup of the week’s new items in PR, including allegations against the Kardashians for endorsing products on social without mentioning that they are paid to do so; the departure of Robyn Massey as Ogilvy’s CCO; more bad news for Chipotle, this time from the NLRB regarding its social media policy.