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As part of our pandemic interview series with new executives, we spoke with Elana Gold, the new chief marketer at Del Monte Fresh Produce. Hired during the pandemic, Gold discussed keeping customers at the apex of marketing during the pandemic as conditions change constantly and remote working is the norm.

[Editor’s Note: We spoke with Crystal Cooper Mathis, director of marketing and communications, SignatureFD, and Toni Harrison, CEO of Etched Communication, about launching DE&I communication in the midst

Both The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Hearst publications were caught flatfooted after allegations appeared in the media that their brands’ values failed to equate with reality. In her regular Image Patrol feature, Katie Paine analyzes the slow response to each PR crisis and provides tips for how brands should handle such issues.

Our latest survey of PR pros found them working harder than before the pandemic, but for a reason that left them thinking the future looks bright. In addition, more than 80 percent of survey respondents said the industry will rebound to its pre-pandemic size and that PR’s prestige has risen during the past five months. The pandemic has illustrated that businesses need strategic communication, respondents said.

For years, Adobe executives believed that getting a large volume of media coverage across a wide range of publications was more beneficial than fewer articles in targeted media. Using media measurement and analysis, Adobe’s Dr. Jennifer Bruce showed this was not the case.

As the pandemic has changed many aspects of life and business, it’s natural to think communicators are adjusting their messages and how they’re delivered. Nicole Schuman of PRNEWS found PR pros at brands and organizations are making subtle and significant changes in the wake of the pandemic.

Like a Nancy Drew page-turner, Sunday’s mystery of the vanishing baseball player took a shoddy communication road not many PR pros would care to ease on down. Yoenis Céspedes, an outfielder and DH for the New York Mets, chose to opt out of the rest of the 2020 Major League Baseball season. But before that acknowledgement, the Mets issued a statement suggesting the blockbuster player was missing. 

With all the changes the pandemic has imposed on consumers and businesses, it’s not a surprise that brand communicators have had to adapt their goals and strategies. Fortunately, the basics continue to work: monitoring the news and social media, crafting relevant messages and employing thought leadership, among other things. Being nimble and flexible also are key components.

No doubt the pandemic has narrowed choices for brand communicators, especially those accustomed to decamping to Las Vegas every January for CES. With the task of creating and maintaining brand images, communicators will have to change their PR plans for all-digital events, such as CES. A CES veteran, communicator David Wolpert offers tips on how to do this successfully.

When your brand is built on being kind, it’s important to actually be kind. Ellen DeGeneres is learning this lesson the hard way. Staff have come forward to claim the culture at her eponymous talk show is anything but kind. In a letter dangerously close to a non-apology apology, Ellen says she’s committed to fixing what ails her staff, though she offers few details. Time will tell if this PR crisis has caused significant damage to her kind reputation.