Welcome to your PRNEWS weekly update. We hope you’re enjoying Measurement Month, despite the arctic weather some of you are experiencing. On the plus side, the temps make it ideal to stay inside, relax and enjoy all the measurement-related articles in this month’s PRNEWS, which you should have received earlier today.

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Will the recent rebrand of Kroger result in substantial benefits for the grocery chain? Perhaps. From our narrow viewpoint, though, it’s a winner and offers a slew of lessons for PR pros.

• First, the embargoed release was sent days in advance, giving media plenty of time to create stories.
• Second, the pitch was personalized, sent by a person to media members. Hard as it is to believe, content creators are people.
• Third, a separate release provided visual assets.
• Last, and by no means least, the press release was loaded with information, yet it was clearly organized into concise, bite-size sections. For example, it explained the design elements behind the curly K and G in the new Kroger The brand’s new color pallet and the elements Kroger will adopt for video and photography also received brief paragraphs.

Nicely done, Kroger.

As evidence mounts that consumers want brands to take stands on social issues, we’re seeing purpose practices sprout. The latest example is Brodeur Partners, which late last week launched a global social purpose & sustainability unit. Scott Beaudoin will lead the practice. Most recently he headed corporate & brand for Fenton. “Today, all companies must demonstrate…not only… commitment to environmental and social concerns, but concrete progress. That’s what we’ll help them do,” he says. Authenticity is important too. More than half of consumers (53 percent) believe brands only take a stand for PR or marketing purposes, yet 70 percent of consumers still believe it’s important for brands to take a public stand on social and political issues, a new Sprout Social study says. – Bipartisan strategic communications firm Seven Letter of DC launched Seven Letter Labs, a digital communications offering. The launch results from Seven Letter’s acquisition of digital firm Tessio Labs. John Corrigan and Michael Treon will lead Seven Letter Labs. They founded Tessio.

Scripps promoted its senior communications and investor relations exec Carolyn Pione Micheli to SVP, corporate communications/IR, up from VP. – A massive reorg late last week at Papa John’s resulted in the departure of global CMO Karlin Linhardt, who was on the job just 8 months. The new chief commercial and marketing officer is Max Wetzel.  – CommCore named Berna Diehl and Dan Wilinsky senior consultants. Diehl is a former JPA Health Communications exec and Edelman advisor. A veteran PR pro, Wilinsky will bolster CommCore’s southwest presence in Denver.

• Quality Data at a Premium as C-Suite Demand Continues to Grow for Insights from Measurement
• What Communications Professionals Need to Know About Data Privacy
• The Roadblocks to Effective PR Measurement and Strategies to Overcome Them
• 62% of Organizations Have PR Crisis Plans, Just 49% are Updated; Cyber Crime Lacks Attention
• Measurement 2019: Guarded Optimism, Denial of Data, the Need for Insights and College Courses
• 10 Questions You Need to Answer as the 2020 Budgeting Season Beckons
• Using Data to Improve Performance in Higher Education or Any Sector
• Incoming Page Board Chair Emphasizes New Skills for CCOs as They Manage Expanding Role
• Incoming PRSA Chair Pushes Non-Stop Learning, Urges PR to Use Truth to Combat Disinformation

Up Ahead

The December edition of PRNEWS will include our annual predictions section and a special look back at last year’s predictions. Do you have a prediction or two for 2020 that you think your fellow readers would find provocative/useful? Send an email to: [email protected] and let him know.