Stories by Nicole Schuman

There are plenty of reasons for communicators to celebrate Earth Day this year. More companies are including conservation and sustainability in their corporate culture. In addition, media is hiring more full-time journalists to cover the environment. There are many ways to make sustainability stories more attractive to them and their audiences.

With cannabis legal in a growing number of states, it’s no longer surprising to see pot products and messaging within the mainstream. 

 While we lack data on it, we’ll guess that with so many employees working from home since the start of the pandemic, the already-sparse scheduling of desktop crisis drills has contracted even more. One of the characteristics of crisis is an uncanny ability to arrive according to its schedule, not yours. As a result, a PR crisis strikes when the CEO is in a remote part of China negotiating a deal or the COO is on a ski vacation in Aspen and has gone off the grid. As such, the most realistic crisis-readiness exercises, pre-pandemic and now, were and are conducted with staff situated in various locations.

PRNEWS Live welcomed Jenan Matari, director of accounts at Victory Public Relations. Jenan discussed inclusive messaging, recent campaigns to promote Ramadan and the importance of marketing to the Muslim population.

PR pros and the media face a critical situation. They must get the J&J vaccine narrative right, informing the public about risks while not inducing undue concern and spurring more vaccine anxiety. It’s also an opportunity for government, the medical community and media to regain public trust.

For many stuck at home in 2020, social media provided one of the only ways to continue exploring the outside world. According to a report by Hootsuite and We Are Social, social media usage increased by 13 percent this past year. It should come as no surprise that new research by Sprout Social shows that 91 percent of executives anticipate their social budget will continue to increase over the next three years. Nearly half expect to bump spending by 100 percent. 

Along with what you say, how you say it, or tone of voice, helps establish a public perception. Tone can be critical during a PR crisis.

Diversity and inclusion continue to be at the forefront of necessary change in the PR industry (and beyond). As such, communicators should be crafting inclusive messaging. Among their considerations should be race, gender and identification, sexual orientation, religion and disability, along with other factors. To create inclusive messaging, PR pros need to look beyond their unintentional biases.

Vaccination cards fill social media timelines. Grandparents are planning reunions with grandchildren. Schools have reopened. Major League Baseball just began its season with fans. And friends are making plans to enjoy their first meals inside… Continued

PRNEWS Live celebrated the final day of Women’s History Month with Hallmark Channel CCO Annie Howell and former ESPN CCO Rosa Gatti. You can view PRNEWS’ library of free LinkedIn Live streams here.