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Many digital pros recommend making sure your content is not tone-deaf in this moment. That’s always good advice, of course. What’s critical, though, is understanding strategies behind when and how to engage appropriately and effectively. While planning digital efforts for tomorrow or even this week is not the way to go, you should be looking at longer range tactics and strategies.

Want more evidence that the actions of one person can change the world? We offer the story of the late Marilyn Laurie, a stay-at-home mom who later became a titan of the PR world as a top communicator at AT&T. Not coincidentally, she also played a major role in organizing the first Earth Day celebrations in NYC, in 1970. Her former colleague at AT&T, Dick Martin, tells us how Laurie helped communicate about the initial Earth Day.

For high school seniors, receiving that fat envelope in the mail from a prospective dream college ranks as one of the most memorable days of their lives. Unfortunately, for many, the onslaught of coronavirus interrupted that dream. With so many unknowns, prospective students and families are left with dozens of questions, launching higher education communications departments into overdrive.

Two days after announcing it would be furloughing 100,000 theme park and hotel workers as a result of coronavirus closures, Disney is facing fire from within (the family, at least). Company heiress and proverbial black sheep Abigail Disney, who in 2019 brought her criticism of management to Capitol Hill,  took to Twitter to call out the conglomerate’s bonus structure.

Influencers want to influence, but the pandemic might not be the best moment, unless you are a health care influencer, says restaurant and food influencer Jonathan Cheban, aka Foodgod. Instead, post judiciously, he says. In addition, he recommends influencers remain authentic and true to their brand, which always is good advice.

In the decades since the environmental awareness holiday was launched, numerous organizations have tied the spring months to environmental sustainability and stewardship initiatives. Whether pledging to reduce an organization’s environmental impacts, investing in fossil fuel alternatives or teaching kids the importance of conservation, just about every kind of organization has an “in” on climate action. For inspiration, here are three Earth Day communications highlights.

PRNEWS has argued often that collecting data is critical to help communicators understand their audiences. At this moment, when most things are closed or slowed significantly, it seems a new poll or survey is created every minute. This plethora of data is helping communicators get an accurate picture of the new normal.

A trio of PR pros provides answers to a slew of questions asked during our free webinar about communicating and pitching during the pandemic. Not surprisingly, many of the basics of PR before coronavirus hit continue to be important.

Ticket buyers hounded Ticketmaster for weeks, wondering when or if they would receive refunds for cancelled sporting events and concerts. Live Nation, parent company of Ticketmaster, offered no reprieve. Postponed events would not lead to… Continued

“The business of business is business,” Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman (1912-2006) said. Our PRNEWS survey of some 200 PR executives expands on that thinking somewhat. We found that in this difficult moment, an overwhelming number of PR executives are most concerned with the health and safety of their staff. Finding new revenue doesn’t come close.