Marketing with Impact
COVID-19 not only disrupted our daily lives but also those of thousands of businesses and industries. While the pandemic has caused chaos for marketers, it also presents an opportunity for those who can quickly adapt to the suddenly changed landscape. Before the pandemic, consumers were exposed to 5,000 messages daily according to data analytics company Talkwalker. There are four areas of a brand’s marketing campaign that CFOs need to pay attention to today. Area 1 – Content Meaningful engagement is even more important today since there’s an avalanche of consumers going online to search for and purchase merchandise. Content must reverberate with them from the start and then engage them throughout their visit. Inspect the data about the product, not…
Read MoreUK Media and Government Clash over Coronavirus Coverage
Media outlets across the world are working out how to cover the COVID-19 outbreak, and they’re learning on the job. Where is the line between accuracy and hype, between reporting the current facts on the ground and waiting for further details or testing? And where is the line between factually reporting government decisions and taking the risk of deteriorating the confidence of citizens looking to their government for action and answers? These questions are playing out in real time in London, UK, as even media outlets who are typically sympathetic to the ruling government have been strongly criticizing leaders’ decisions in recent days. Headlines have criticized a perceived “confusion” and “lack of clarity” from government messaging, while others are screaming…
Read MorePatriots Deliver More Than a Million Masks
Recently, the New England Patriots were the big headline in the essentially closed world of professional sports. Their biggest name, the man some consider the best to ever play the game, quarterback Tom Brady, was headed out of New England to Tampa. Brady was a Buccaneer, and Pats fans were aghast. It was a headline many in New England, especially die-hard Patriots fans could hardly wrap their heads around. No more QB12? Now, though, much of the nation, both in and out of New England, has a reason to cheer for the Patriots. With reports of personal protective equipment shortages at many hospitals across the country, especially in New York, millions of Americans are wondering if their local medical facilities…
Read MoreWinning PR in the Digital Age
Public relations is shifting. While, in many ways, the fundamentals are the same as they always were, PR is experiencing a Renaissance in the digital age. As traditional media outlets are tightening their belts, because of falling advertising revenue, other forms of media communication are offering brands a direct link to their customer base, creating relationship dynamics and communication opportunities that have never been possible before. To win in the PR business today, brands and PR pros must be more proactive, they need to update their approach to PR and take advantage of new opportunities for brand placement and expanded venues for stories and customer connection points. And, along with these new options and opportunities, there are a host of…
Read More3M and GE Step Into Gap to Help Stretched-Thin Medical Industry
The global calamity that is the COVID-19 pandemic has ground some businesses and industries to a halt. However, there are some brands that are in a key position to step in and act heroically to help in this time of crisis. If they take the opportunity, and they manage the messaging correctly, this could be a major positive PR move in a sea of bad news. Early on in the news reports about the spread of the novel coronavirus, one specific piece of medical equipment became a kind of shorthand for the resources available to fight the pandemic: the N95 respirator. Headline after headline urged consumers not to purchase the masks, to save them for medical professionals, even as others…
Read MoreMovie Fans Turn to Streaming During Lockdown
With movie theaters coast to coast operating at 50 percent capacity or closing altogether, Hollywood production studios are faced with some tough decisions: hold off on movie releases, pull the trigger on releases and hope for the best, or find another way to get their investment back and try to earn a profit on movies that were slated for spring or early summer release. There remains, of course, an obvious choice. With millions upon millions across the globe stuck at home practicing “social distancing” movie producers could look to the one thing they know many of these people would be doing: streaming movies. Services like Amazon Prime, Hulu, Netflix, Disney+, NBC, and WarnerMedia are all jostling and jockeying for attention…
Read MoreCiti CEO Attempts to Calm Financial Fears
In the midst of a major stock market tumble, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the closure of multiple major events and venues, fears are rising. Investors are worried. Workers are worried… Everyone is hoping for the best and trying to prepare for the worst. Into that maelstrom, one top-level financial sector executive is trying to calm fears. Citi CEO Michael Corbat has a message for people who are forecasting another recession: “This is not a financial crisis… Banks are in solid shape…” This message came after several CEOs of America’s largest financial institutions met with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss the stock market downturn and the next steps to get the economy back on track. Coming out…
Read MoreCBS News Becomes Part of the News Cycle
Round the clock news coverage of the COVID-19 virus became to ramp up as the first cases were diagnosed in the United States. Not long after, one of the news networks became part of the story. CBS News shut down its NYC headquarters for “cleaning and disinfecting” this past week after two employees at that office tested positive for coronavirus. For two days, most employees worked from home and the network tried to keep up business as usual. Eagle-eyed fans could tell CBS This Morning was broadcast from Washington, though most viewers barely noticed a blip. The network managed to continue operations without missing a beat, much to the relief of management, staff, and the loyal fans who depend on…
Read MoreNetflix Winners Use Exposure to Increase PR Footprint
Streaming media continues to thrive, using its growing clout to siphon more ideas and more eyes away from traditional network television. Some of its most recent successes provide object lessons in the potential of applying effective consumer PR to transition a success in one area to a head start in another. In less than a year, Netflix has launched three new reality TV programs, and the winners of those shows are leveraging digital PR and smart social media action to launch new careers. The winner of Netflix’s design reality show, “Next in Fashion,” was Minju Kim, a 33-year-old fashion designer known for designing fashions for famous K-pop singers BTS. That resume was enough for notoriety heading into the competition, but…
Read MoreApple to Pay Big for Slowing Down Older iPhones
A bombshell headline hit the tech world when, in December of 2017, Apple was forced to admit something customers had been claiming for years: the company was “slowing down” or “throttling” older iPhones through software updates. When this news was confirmed, technology consumers fired back, venting years of frustration. Apple’s argument for the practice didn’t hold water with them at all. They said the process was done for safety reasons. Customers argued that, to them, it was clear that Apple was doing this to “force” customers to buy new iPhones. In an instance of taking bad digital PR and making it worse, Apple responded to these complaints and allegations by offering to swap out handset batteries… if consumers paid them…
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