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PR pros can no longer assume their company or organization is immune to trauma. As a crisis communicator, when something horrible happen are you prepared for an immediate response? Do you have a recovery plan for your brand? A crisis plan that you test, and update annually?

Parody can help companies cut through the proverbial clutter and humanize their message. Using parody plays into social channels and can appeal to millennials, who were raised on irreverence and now are starting to enter the management ranks. Has the cold-sober approach to branding run its course?

A major complication arose when, on the eve of an important press announcement, a Chicago Sun-Times columnist reported incorrectly that Navy Pier would “sell naming rights” to redevelopment project which had been sponsored by a legacy gift.

Find “owned” content that lends itself to visual storytelling. Slice and dice the content and package it with social channels using online photos, video and other forms of digital communication.

PR pros need to develop robust media strategies that embrace both earned and owned media, the latter of which is hiding in plain sight.

I make sure our PR outreach/content is always educational, sincere, and practical.

A brand’s reputation no longer is driven solely by paid content and messaging, but by relationships informed by all stakeholders involved with the organization.

As a baseline, PR executives must understand the buyer persona: What kind of content does your prospect require at each stage of the buying cycle?

As PR interacts more with stakeholders directly, it is increasingly providing support and information and encouraging them to act. When a stakeholder’s experience is positive, chances are that he or she will be hooked and more committed to getting involved with the organization.

While PR executives in the tech sector have attended CES for years, the increasing ubiquity of high technology throughout multiple markets—not to mention how to wed a message to wearable technology—means that non-tech PR execs should consider attending CES.