Reputation

Two more brands stepped into the gun control debate. Walmart, which sells arms, said it would halt sales of handguns, though it will continue offering hunting rifles and ammunition. Grocery chain Kroger, which, as far as we know, doesn’t sell guns, joined Walmart in asking customers not to carry arms in its stores. Did these brands make the right call?

On Monday, PepsiCo Inc., the parent company of Frito-Lay’s iconic Doritos chips launched a new advertising campaign during the annual entertainment celebrating the pulse of youth culture—the MTV Video Music Awards. The campaign, titled “Another Level,” removes all logos and names from Doritos packaging, leaving behind unmarked bags of blue and red, and the archetypal triangle snack shape.

From its leveraging of fan affection for the character to communicating gratitude in the face of uncertainty, Marvel’s handling the uncertainty of its film future with Spider-Man is a masterclass in how to say “I don’t know” to your stakeholders with a delicate touch. Whether on quarterly earnings calls or organizational restructuring meetings, communicators should take note of Marvel’s tact for the times when we need to navigate uncertain waters with our own teams.

There’s no arguing about the importance of a steel-toed communication plan for a company merger. External AND internal communications need to be orchestrated in respect to many audiences—investors, employees, consumers, the media and more. It can be somewhat overwhelming for those involved to perform with speed and accuracy, all the while keeping a brave face for those unsure of an acquisition’s future impact.

PR employees can and will go to social media when they feel management is not listening to their opinions. This is so particularly when firms engage in work for controversial clients and staff find out in the media. Fortunately, one way to avoid having employee dissent spill into the public domain is to engage in a rigorous internal communications effort, several PR pros told us.

Brands and organizations often fail to create as much awareness around anniversaries and other milestones. To remedy this situation requires just a bit of creativity, argues Michael Munz, president of The Dalton Agency.

Awareness campaigns are important, but after your target audience is aware of your message, it’s time to move ahead. Constantly restating the same awareness message year after year will eventually turn off your audience. Instead, it’s time to leave your comfort zone and move on to the next level of marketing.

Brands that constructively feed off each others ideas, perspectives, and resources can effectively expand both audience and reach through collaboration. Hence, successful brand partnerships can optimize brand loyalty through maximum exposure. While con…

Amazon’s Accelerator program, launched in spring 2018, provides select manufacturers with prioritized exposure in exchange for commitment to marketing on the platform. Amazon offers placement at the top of search results in addition to feedback and shipping logistics assistance, on the condition that businesses meet sales quotas and dedicate branding to the conglomerate platform. The deal may sound like a no-brainer for struggling enterprises and start-ups in need of publicity, but coming under the protection of the tech giant’s umbrella could mean signing away native audiences and the potential for independent PR.

Digital platforms are constantly rolling out new products and services to improve the user experience, but seldom do those new features consider the user’s experience off the platform. That’s where Pinterest, a social platform that organizes images on a digital corkboard, has broken new ground. Yesterday, its product team announced “an entirely new experience centered around emotional wellbeing,” reports Wired. “When you type in an anxiety-related query—something like ‘work anxiety,’ or ‘dealing with stress’—Pinterest will now display a box above the stream of pins.”