You can’t always control your circumstances, but you can control your response to those circumstances. That’s a key component to successful PR, and, so far this year, there are several groups doing it right. Here are some strong examples of solid PR responses in 2018. Starbucks Educates Sometimes, no matter how big you are as a company, one decision by one person can have a domino effect on your entire organization. Such was the case when a manager at a Philadelphia Starbucks chose … READ MORE »
In many cases, a PR crisis happens as a result of something someone already said or did, but there are times when the consumer public can watch a PR catastrophe happen in real time, experiencing the chaos as one bad decision leads to a situation spinning out of control. Cartoon Creates Bomb Scare The Cartoon Network program, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, has always been a bit of an acquired taste. It’s an “offbeat” program, and the network has tried all sorts of different … READ MORE »
With midterm elections looming, the folks at Facebook are still desperately trying to reverse a cataclysmic loss of consumer trust thanks to a massive privacy scandal that revealed a myriad of issues with the social media giant. Along those lines, the company is offering a unique level of transparency into its battle against hackers and other bad actors on the platform. The question, though, is will these actions be enough to mollify an increasingly distrustful public. In a recent report, Facebook is said to have … READ MORE »
While social media is one of the powerful PR tools in the digital world, it’s also one of the most difficult avenues for modern brands to understand. Being successful on channels like Twitter today isn’t just about delivering exceptional customer service and useful content. People want to see that their favorite brands have personalities that they can resonate with. To drive more organic social media exchanges, some brands have taken note of celebrities engaging in social media feuds. It turns out that a little banter … READ MORE »
Looking for a delicious home-cooked meal that’s easy to make? Customers may be able to get everything they need from their local Chick-Fil-A – as long as they live in Atlanta. The fast-food company famous for its chicken in various forms is rolling out meal kits in its home city over August, following a similar business plan to organizations like HelloFresh and Blue Apron. When customers pick up a mealtime kit from Chick-Fil-A, they’ll get all the ingredients required to make their favorite recipes at … READ MORE »
The same week Twitter came under withering fire from Republicans and others over allegations the social platform was “shadow-banning” some conservative users, Twitter received another gut punch, this time from Wall Street. As the platform has focused on “cleaning up” its user base, Twitter is enjoying fewer active monthly users than expected, and that has the company’s stock price falling. Twitter told concerned investors that the company expected some of this to happen as they focus their attention on “purging automated and spam … READ MORE »
Exclusivity is a vital component of any luxury brand’s marketing message, so it should come as no surprise that some brands go to extreme ends to protect that exclusivity. But those efforts do not always sit well with the consumer public, and that can create some PR tension for the brand, especially if it mishandles the messaging related to the issue. A recent example of this is the upscale British fashion brand, Burberry. It’s well known that Burberry is targeted at a certain, … READ MORE »
In the modern 21st century Space Race, there is a clear leader. SpaceX has captured the imagination of the public like nothing since the early days of the shuttle program, when people stopped their day to watch launches by the millions. The repeated success of SpaceX rockets to take off and then, amazingly, land safely to fly another day has mesmerized the public, giving the company a significant lead in the race to be the space transport and exploration company of the future. … READ MORE »
As incendiary headlines go, this one is tough to beat. Apparently, the owner of the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas has filed a lawsuit against more than 1,000 victims of the mass shooting that took the lives of 58 people and wounded many more at a concert back in 2017. Reaction to the headline, as it made the rounds on social media, was swift and vitriolic. People reacted with rage, directed against the Mandalay, the ownership, and, in general, the class of … READ MORE »
Coming right on the heels of the landmark announcement that Tesla had “done it,” the company had created a fully electric family car for a middle-class budget, Tesla was forced to admit production wasn’t quite where they wanted it to be. As it turned out, they were way behind, but they were still taking pre-orders. The company asked anxious customers to be patient, that they would solve their production problems. Now, it seems, they have. But it’s too little too late for some, … READ MORE »
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