Stories by Nicole Schuman

While the election showcased a deeply-divided nation, president-elect Joe Biden’s acceptance speech Saturday called for unity and healing. He set a precedent with the tone and content of his speech, acknowledging battles affecting every citizen across the nation. Bringing people together seems to be a systematic goal for the incoming administration. Letting people know out loud was one way to adhere to that promise.

Unless you’ve been living on Mars with no access to a livestream of Earth, there’s no denying that American’s emotions run the gamut right now. Many citizens’ stress levels, due to an elongated presidential election, have hit their peak. However, when things get tough in the U.S., some of our best and brightest creative coping mechanisms come through. Laughter is the best medicine for tense times, and social media is providing some of the most hilarious election memes, tweets and videos for comfort. 

The news media and social media platforms know it is of the utmost responsibility to get this right. With Twitter and Facebook battling swarms of disinformation posts daily, the companies prepared strategies to combat this ahead of Election Day. The media also seeks to instill and keep the trust of the American people, with most outlets announcing reporting processes. Both industries worked extra hard to focus on protecting the integrity of election results to earn trust. 

Having an extensive social media strategy is a key part of crisis readiness. In addition, it can help a company take advantage of a breaking situation that falls short of crisis. A healthy social media plan

Laurie Garrett, a Pulitzer-prize winning science journalist and author, and one of the most prolific voices regarding coronavirus news, gave the keynote speech for PRSA Icon, the organization’s annual international conference. Garrett delivered a detailed timeline of the progression of coronavirus, paying close attention to the interwoven timeline of misinformation and public distrust.

PRNEWS Live welcomed Dave Skena, chief marketing officer and global director of brand at Krispy Kreme. We discussed how the delectable doughnut brand flipped the script on Halloween and Election Day for 2020.

Social media followers punished the Girl Scouts on Oct. 28, after the 108-year-old organization posted politically-sensitive material on Twitter. Some found the post inappropriate, celebrating Amy Coney Barrett as the fifth woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court since 1789.

Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, Halloween will look un-traditional this year. But brands have come to the rescue with creative ideas to give back to customers and associate fond memories in minds and hearts—especially right before the holiday season. We look at some ghoulishly good campaigns for the holiday.

Today (Oct. 26), American Express announced its latest partnership—with Uber Eats. With 2021 approaching and annual fees on the horizon, many card holders may feel that they are not getting the value from their cards that they did before the pandemic, particularly when it comes to airline miles or hotel points. The Uber Eats partnership provides users another creative way to utilize their card memberships. 

PRNEWS Live welcomed Michelle Ngome, president of the African-American Marketing Association, as our guest. We discussed the continual actions companies and brands are taking to improve DEI, particularly during this Global Diversity Awareness Month.