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This month Katie Paine looks at two crises in organizations that couldn’t be more different. First she analyzes the so-called mysterious deaths of Americans in The Dominican Republic; then she looks at scandal-plagued Deutsche Bank. The two took different crisis management approaches, though both ended up with similar results.

We rarely cover live events in this publication. PRNEWS senior content manager Sophie Maerowitz gave us a reason to make an exception. She attended a PRSA session featuring former Hearst executive Joanna Coles, who offered so many interesting tips and tactics that we had to share them with you. Here are some gems from the sharp yet blunt mind of Coles.

It’s critical to keep a vigilant eye on your audience and frequently take its temperature. For example, based on the negative media coverage of big tech, you’d expect the industry’s reputation would be abysmal. Instead of assuming, a researcher used data to test that assumption. Some of the results were surprising.

With the unofficial start of the summer on July 4, Americans break out their grills. Demand for beef rises as a result. How can a vegetarian staple like hummus compete at this time of the year? Sabra Hummus did its homework and combined its research with humor for a campaign that goes to the heart of customers’ anxieties.

There are few areas more talked about than healthcare. Just look at the recent presidential debates. So, you might think healthcare communicators have it easy. The truth is they need to deal with life and death issues as well as explaining the high cost of healthcare. And what about all that medical mumbo jumbo? Ahead of next month’s PRNEWS Top Women in Healthcare Communications awards, we asked several finalists and honorees about communicating some of the industry’s pain points.

There’s been a generational and cultural shift toward activism over the last few decades, as consumers call for more organic and open conversations about CSR from businesses. With this, the spirit of reversing capitalism-induced environmental and social damage has also become a trend in marketing. And millennials are largely the ones driving the shift.

“How many of you have ever felt stuck at some point in your career?” That was how Joanna Coles began her talk at PRSA’s conference earlier today. As someone with an impressive and long-running career at the helm of some of the biggest media properties in the world, Coles has a deep well of wisdom to draw upon for PR pros. Women and men have parts to play in closing the gender gap in PR, she said.

“How many of you in the room have ever felt stuck at some point in your career?” At the opening session of the Public Relations Society of America’s Corporate Communications Conference in New York, dozens… Continued

Companies like Nike and Ben & Jerry’s have demonstrated the power of brand activism in marketing. With consumer expectations shifting in a tumultuous political environment, what happens when a brand decides to take a neutral approach? Online home furnishing company Wayfair is right now finding out the hard way.

What are your choices for the top PR crises of 2019’s first six months? As is her custom, Solomon McCown & Company president Ashley McCown goes out on a limb, picking her top five and presenting them in this short video. Can you guess what her quintet of PR crises will be? One hint: her top picks involves a global brand that was a leader in its sector, at least it was prior to its crisis.