Media Relations

Kellogg Co. is between a rock and a hard place. On Nov. 29 the cereal giant announced it was pulling advertising from Breitbart, the right-wing news outlet that rocketed to wider recognition after its executive chair Steve Bannon was tapped for the position of senior counselor to president-elect Donald Trump.

So you’ve snagged an influencer for your brand’s next campaign…Now what? According to John Walls, director of brand PR for luxury & lifestyle brands at Hilton Worldwide, maintaining good relations with influencers is more complex than one might think. Walls will be speaking as part of PR News’ Media Relations Conference on Dec. 8 in Washington, D.C. He shares four points to keep in mind as you begin to correspond with your next industry influencer.

Recently it was a PR rep from a huge government organization. He said, “This is all great, but I don’t have any problems getting media attention. They’re calling me every day.” What a huge opportunity he is missing! Whether you’re at a big brand or a small one, it’s not solely about the volume of stories that include you. It’s whether you can place the stories you want told.

When some hear the word “influencer,” they may picture a celebrity with millions of followers. But influencers don’t always need to be famous to be effective brand ambassadors—take it from Amisha Gandhi, senior director of influencer marketing at SAP. She’ll be speaking as part of PR News’ Media Relations Conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 8.

Well before Tuesday brands knew that this was an unusual election. Its surprising conclusion in the early hours of Wednesday morning confirmed that thought many times over. Obviously there are so many emotions to deal with and questions to answer; however, this brief essay will confine itself to the election’s implications for brands.

In the months leading up to the Nov. 8 presidential election, the PR bombs that have been dropped on (or by) each presidential candidate would have kept even the most seasoned PR pro up at night if it were their own brand dealing with media fallout. Here’s how each candidate has remained standing after a number of media firestorms, with quick takes on PR tactics they’ve used for each crisis.

At a networking event last week, an industry colleague asked me if I’ve ever Googled myself. She whispered the question to me as if to self-Google were verboten. Fortunately, we were interrupted by a mutual… Continued

A PR pitch has about eight seconds to grab a reporter’s attention before it gets ignored, marked as spam or deleted. And while the text within the pitch copy might suit a particular reporter’s beat to a T, major outlets have become increasingly reliant on video and photo content amidst the current visual-thirsty digital landscape. So, to risk being passed over for coverage, today’s PR professionals must be able to incorporate visual assets into their content. Here are four best practices for incorporating visuals into content targeted at the media.

Thought leadership: It may be on your C-suite’s wish list, but like many PR goals, the buzz phrase needs to be broken down into executable tactics in order to be both meaningful and achievable. At the PRSA International Conference in Indianapolis, David Siroty of Coldwell Banker Real Estate and Lindsey Turrentine of CNET broke down their own tactics as they spoke about the fruitful strategic partnership their brands have worked toward in the last decade.

A weekly roundup of the week that was in PR and a brief look at personnel moves. This week’s edition includes stories about Dunkin’ Brands, Spong’s new name, Ketchum’s WonderLust 50+ study and the founding of American Women in PR.