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PR News’ weekly look at the stories that are shaping the world of professional communications.

When is TV media training not TV media training? When it’s customized for specific settings, hosts and issues.

The cause of science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, is being embraced by a growing number of groups, including scientists and inventors.

The success of branded content is more contingent now on PR pros’ ability to crunch numbers and analyze data.

The 2015 NCAA men’s basketball tournament heads toward the Final Four this weekend. But consumer brands have been scrambling to align their messages with March Madness since it started nearly two weeks ago.

McDonald’s seeks ‘Moments of Joy as sales’ slump.

Brands and organizations of all stripes are starting to embrace Instagram, whose youthful user base grew to 64.2 million last year and is expected to top 100 million by 2018.

Spring is in the air, and so are significant changes at some of the most popular brands. These are not marginal changes where a press release and a few media hits will suffice to get out the message, though. They are major breaks from the branded past that require long-term communication strategies and a sustained effort by PR pros.

Kelly McGinnis became executive VP and CCO of Levi Strauss & Co. in 2013. The move came 18 months after Levi Strauss hit the reset button following years of no growth. From the get-go McGinnis—who reports directly to Levi’s CEO Chip Bergh—instituted four principles that have guided communications strategy and enhanced integration.

Unlike some audiences that brands and organizations cater to, influencers are not monolithic but are a loosely affiliated group of individuals who can have a pivotal influence on PR’s ability to drive conversation and spread the word. But getting people online to share information about your company’s products/services or values requires a different mindset than blasting a press release to a similar demographic or giving a presentation to like-minded people.