In a world of 24-hour information, quality PR work is crucial.

When the Baltimore Colts moved out of town under the cover of darkness in 1984, the team pretty much cemented its place in the Bad PR Moves Hall of Fame. But last week, Bally Total Fitness took a page out of the Colts’ playbook anyway, completing a sale of 171 of its clubs to competitor LA Fitness — without telling its members. Other than a vague, one-paragraph statement on both companies’ websites, and two days’ notice of an early closing on November 30, gym members were given no information about the sale, or what it would mean for them. Read the rest of this entry »

Many crisis situations entail change, surprise or the unexpected.

“In many ways, individuals and institutions get measured by their capacity to deal with change, surprise and the unexpected.” — Bob Woodward

Many crisis situations entail change, surprise or the unexpected. How do we as public relations professionals respond effectively? How do we blend the proper doses of textbook theory, gut instinct and level-headed judgment?

Over the course of my career I have dealt with a variety of “urgent” situations: product liability, white-collar crime, race and sex discrimination, life-threatening negligence by healthcare providers, environmental issues, and corporate downsizing, to name a few. Read the rest of this entry »

Sean Parker: You may have a point, but you’re also missing the point.

Just like any morning I opened my eyes to my alarm gave a quick stretch and rolled over to my smart phone to quickly enter cyberspace and start my day. Naturally, I had to check Facebook first to see what mindblowing information I had missed in the past eight hours (priorities straight). As I scrolled through my app a plethora of status updates came through bashing the book for changing its layout. Read the rest of this entry »

Part 3: The Leader of the Facebook Pack

The first three posts in my Facebook news feed this morning were:

• A video of my neighbor’s new puppy (cute!)
• A picture of the beach in Greece where my best friend is vacationing (jealous!)
• A rant on the morning commute from a high school classmate (unintentionally hilarious!)

On the surface, these posts have nothing in common. So how did Facebook decide they should be in my “top news” feed? In a word: EdgeRank. Read the rest of this entry »

Part 2: Facebook PR Strategies for a Small Budget

Kohl’s department store has more than 4.8 million Facebook “likes,” a following largely built during a 2010 campaign that let fans vote for which 20 schools should receive $500,000 each. The company gave away $10 million, but gained a groundswell of good feelings and a legion of new fans who now receive the company’s updates every day.

But take heart — you don’t need a multimillion-dollar budget to build a Facebook following. Read the rest of this entry »

Casey Anthony at trial

The verdict is in. Casey Anthony, the Florida woman who was on trial for the murder of her daughter Caylee in 2008, cries in the courtroom as the jury forewoman reads, “In the matter of first-degree murder, we the jury find the defendant not guilty.” There are more than a million onlookers on CNN.com as Anthony walks away from the death penalty and into the arms of freedom. She’s acquitted of all major charges: murder, aggravated manslaughter and aggravated child abuse. Charged with only four counts of delivering false information to law enforcement officials, Anthony is sentenced to four years in prison. But having served three years already, she won’t be doing much hard time. Read the rest of this entry »

Part 1: Your Facebook cheat sheet

Facebook. One out of every 13 people on earth is on it. More than half of all social media traffic in the United States comes from it. It’s no wonder that it has become a component of every good PR strategy.

But unlike traditional media outlets, with their long histories of best practices and protocols to follow, Facebook and other social media outlets change the rules often by the day. The whole process of setting up a page, recruiting fans and interacting with them — not to mention making the whole thing valuable for the client — is new territory for many PR professionals. Read the rest of this entry »

Planning is key to event success.

Not for jingle bells, but for events — royal weddings, grand openings, fundraisers and community fairs. Whether you’re hosting a small group of friends or the entire town, planning is key to event success.

Here are some tips to get you started: Read the rest of this entry »

Miracle Whip's current campaign

Advertising used to have one goal: to make you buy a product. But recent campaigns from big names like Miracle Whip and Domino’s are taking the opposite path. They are spending big chunks of time, space and money to tell us that lots of people hate them. Read the rest of this entry »

Working with an agency

How can a PR agency help you in your quest for the gold? How can they understand the constraints of hospital PR and the competitive, ego-rich environment you have to navigate every day? Read the rest of this entry »