Branding/Marketing

Today the startup label appears everywhere: a two-person consultancy calls itself a startup; a local retail brand with an online store adopts the label; a profitable, bootstrapped business with no ambition to scale beyond a niche still uses the term.

From a crisis communications misstep on one of the entertainment industry’s biggest stages and new data showing employees now outpace CEOs in brand trust, to Burger King’s surprisingly human response to a decade of customer complaints, this week’s PR Roundup highlights the power—and pitfalls—of modern communications.

Building a modern communications stack doesn’t mean adopting every new tool. But you do need to select the right ones. To do this, brand communicators need to understand three fundamentals: voice, velocity and verification.

PRNEWS has unveiled the winners of the 2026 Content Marketing Awards, which recognize the campaigns, creators and communicators redefining what public relations can achieve through content.

This week’s PR Roundup shows how quickly trust can unravel. Ring’s Super Bowl ad received backlash for its AI-powered “Search Party” feature, which aimed to charm viewers with a lost-puppy story, but many found it “creepy,” igniting privacy concerns.

Virality is fleeting. Sustained relevance is an economic driver that promotes long-term success. Alix Earle’s Netflix deal is a case study in true brand power.

This week’s PR Roundup looks at how brands are approaching high-stakes moments—from the real impact of celebrity Super Bowl ads to lower pricing plays and playful Valentine’s Day stunts designed to cut through the noise.

For organizations that participate, sponsor, host or support mega sporting events, the communications landscape is uncompromising: every message, silence and misstep is amplified and politicized almost instantly.

The “Bad Bunny approach” offers crisis managers a set of lessons that apply across government, philanthropy, business and community networks.

From Ye’s crisis apologies and credibility questions to Oscar Mayer’s bun-believable brand theatrics and Muck Rack’s AI reality checks, this week’s PR Roundup highlights how communicators are navigating seriousness, spectacle and strategy all at once.