The Royal Brand:Wherever you were in the world Saturday, May 19, if you were near a television or social media it was difficult to escape the wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. Pardon us for reducing the royal wedding to a mini PR case study, but if the couple can be perceived as a brand of the British monarchy, the messaging transmitted before, during and after the ceremony was plentiful and pointed. There were multiple lessons for communicators. Much of the planet observed numerous breaks with the past during the ceremony—the gospel choir singing Stand By Me, the American Episcopal bishop’s participation in the service, the bride walking solo halfway down the aisle, to name just a few. The messages were obvious: Britain, like the newlyweds, is multicultural and progressive on women’s issues. While the monarchy may move slowly, at least this brand in the monarchic stable wants to be with the times. Prior to the wedding, the couple was sending similar messages of diversity as well as inclusion. In a terrific bit of coordinated PR, Kensington Palace provided explanations on social and traditional channels for nearly every move, assuring the messages behind the couple’s choices were available to media and the public. Another smart move: Most details were announced March 31, roughly six weeks ago, not too early or late.
...A Public Event: An example of pre-ceremony messages, the couple decided to marry on a weekend as opposed to a weekday, as Queen Elizabeth prefers, allowing it to be more of a public event. The couple, a Palace statement said, “would like their wedding day to be shaped to allow members of the public to share in the joy and fun.” That was one inclusivity message. (You could argue, of course, Harry’s choice of a divorced, biracial, American commoner was another tip of the cap to inclusion.) Here’s more inclusivity: The newlyweds in March decided some 2,600 members of the public would be present to witness portions of the event, allowing them on the grounds of Windsor Castle, the wedding venue. They were to include “1,200 people, from all corners of the UK...and include young people who have shown strong leadership and those who have served their communities...also invited into the castle grounds are 200 people from charities and organizations close to Prince Harry and Ms. Markle,” a Kensington Palace statement said.
...Charity and Flowers: More about charity: the flowers adorning St. George’s Chapel were sent to at least one London hospice after the ceremony, although messaging around this was intentionally vague to make the floral deliveries a surprise. Tweets from St. Joseph’s Hospice showing an elderly patient smiling with the flowers went a long way toward enhancing the couple’s reputation for caring. On a floral note, you have to like the Palace including a detail like this in a statement. Harry, a statement read, picked Forget-Me-Nots from his garden to include in his wife’s bouquet. The sping blooms were his late mother’s favorites.
News Bits:Another example of accountability over the Michael Cohen-Novartis-AT&T mess. Novartis group general counsel Felix Ehrat, who signed a $1.2 million consulting contract with President Trump’s lawyer along with now-former CEO Joe Jimenez, will retire June 1. “As a co-signatory...I take personal responsibility to bring the public debate on this matter to an end,” he wrote May 16. Days earlier AT&T chief lobbyist Bob Quinn also “retired” abruptly. The debate might not be over, though, as U.S. and Swiss lawmakers have hinted at investigations. -- Michigan State University(MSU) reached a $500 million settlement May 16 with more than 300 gymnasts who survived the sexual abuse of Dr. Larry Nassar. The PR and other issues for MSU seem far from over. For example, how will MSU pay for the settlement? Imagine how proposals to raise tuition or get more money from the state are being received. Rating agency Standard & Poor’s May 18 put MSU on “creditwatch with negative implications.” – More bad news for Wells Fargo. A Wall St Journal report says in 2017 and this year employees in the business-banking unit changed data on documents related to corporate customers without their knowledge. The data included social security numbers, addresses and dates of birth. The bank didn’t comment.
Growth: D.C.-based kglobal debuted a Seattle office, joining its San Diego operations. -- Weber Shandwick, acquired Cappuccino, a Brazilian digital marketing agency. – Congrats to Eric Mower & Associates on 50 years in business. It’s rebranded to Mower.
technology practice, Finn Partners
People:Bravo to PR News PR Leader of the Year (2017) Jodi Brooks on joining Finn Partners as head of its tech practice. She joins from Burson-Marsteller. -- SourceCode Communications named Sara Ajemian to lead its ad and martech practice.