Digital & Technology

Messaging apps like WhatsApp and Messenger (both part of the Facebook family) are powerful platforms that are now being used by more and more people. As mass adoption occurs, the tipping point makes it justifiable for brands and services to invest in the development of bots and AI. And judging by this week’s SXSW, that tipping point isn’t far away.

Lyft and Uber have been locked in PR warfare against each other this year, but the first weekend of Austin, Texas’ South by Southwest was a feather in the cap of both ride-sharing platforms. And they didn’t have to do a thing—they just stood by and watched as others failed to do their job successfully.

Rarely do I mess with cookies, except to eat them. But an experience over the last two weeks with a furniture retailer had me clearing the cookies from my computer. So annoyed was I by… Continued

New digital platforms are driving the evolution of communications departments into media conglomerates, generating graphic, video and other content for both broad and targeted audiences. The agenda spans from an annual horizon of what we need to communicate, all the way down to what just happened a moment ago online and whether there is an organic way to join the conversation. So, Southwest Airlines is exploring how to create content from conversation trends, born out of data and presented in a timely manner.

At just over 125 years young, The Coca-Cola Company made a decision that its best stories could no longer be contained by traditional paths. With the speed of communication driving faster to keep up with the speed of connection, we decided to transform our corporate destination into an online magazine that delivered at the speed of our consumers’—and critics’—digital lives. With that, Coca-Cola Journey was launched.

Agencies of the future are not just service agencies. They don’t merely represent and provide counsel for brands. Instead, agencies of the future must also have distribution platforms, which provide data and qualified links, increase creativity, improve testing capacity and short-cut outreach efforts. If an agency is not actively constructing, acquiring or collaborating on distribution platform strategies, then its future may be short-lived.

You might think branded content sites have little organization behind them. Perhaps that’s so at some sites. The branded content portal at monster.com is the opposite, however. Content and staff are organized into three groups: to raise awareness; to (gently) nudge readers to investigate what the site offers; and to assist those who are highly motivated to find jobs.

During the the 2017 Grammy Awards ceremony, Nike premiered its star-studded “Equality” ad, part of its newest campaign calling for racial and social equality on and off the court. Nike made its campaign as much a part of the conversation leading up to the Grammys as whether Adele or Beyoncé would sweep their respective categories. So how did Nike, a shoe brand, make sure that it shone nearly as bright as Beyoncé’s golden goddess costume during the festivities? Here’s a look at Nike’s strategic execution of the “Equality” campaign leading up to, during and following the Grammy ceremony.

Professional communicators give, give, give on behalf of their brand and their brand’s audience. Little time is left over for asking themselves the WIIFM question. How often do they focus their communications skills on building their own public profile and enhancing their own reputation? What are they doing to make influencers of themselves, and would they know where to start?

If you’re trapped at the airport or at home in the first (and hopefully last) blizzard of 2017, PR News has you covered with reading material: These sunny influencer tips from the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board will have you thinking of warmer days in no time. Bill Karz, vice president of digital marketing at L.A. Tourism and Convention Board, shares influencer tactics as a sneak peak of his session at PR News’ Digital Summit, Feb. 24 in Huntington Beach, CA.