Stories by Seth Arenstein

For 2020, personalization was predicted, in 2019, as a dominant theme. Trust topped the 2019 list. Some trends for 2021 extend what 2020 highlighted: greater emphasis on DEI, purpose and internal communication.

We visited the web site of Newark Symphony Hall (NSH), the Garden State’s largest arts venue and one of its oldest. The first thing we saw is that NSH is closed for COVID. So, try getting support for arts-related projects when performances are suspended. Yet that’s the assignment for women-owned Violet PR, which won what seemed, on first glance, a dubious victory, to represent NSH.

[ Editor’s Note: Having a plan is the minimum requirement for crisis pros. That’s not always possible as veteran brand communicator Bobbie Carlton tells us in this Q&A.] PRNEWS: Give us the scenario

The PR industry might need to come up with a new term for Internal communication now that so many staffers are working from home. For HPE CCO Jennifer Temple the issue seems permanent. In a wide-ranging interview she tells us nearly half her company’s 62,000 global staff probably will not return to the office on a regular basis after the pandemic. Temple tells us how her team plans to engage a segmented employee base.

It’s not an easy time in general. Perhaps more so for media relations pros, who are pitching against several dominant stories and an eclectic pastiche of other items. Still, PR pros are nothing if not resourceful. The best are finding opportunities in the crowded field. Here are a few on November 19, 2020.

It’s an axiom of PR and communication that you shouldn’t lie to the media, even during an exit interview. The media often has a way of finding out the truth. When so much of our public life is committed to video, it makes getting away with lying very difficult. And then there are groups who’ll make videos about you.

October marked the 75th anniversary of National Disability Employment Awareness Month. To celebrate, we spoke with Rachel Carver, a senior PR specialist at Outlook Business Solutions.

Female-led WE Communications has an enviable track record on gender diversity. Last week it named 20-year WE veteran Elizabeth Herrera Smith EVP and head of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). We asked about ways PR can bolster its ethnic diversity and how small and mid-size communication shops can kickstart DEI.

For PR it’s the best of times and the worst, according to a new survey about organization from PRNEWS and the Institute of PR (IPR). More than 300 respondents tell us communication is in demand across the company, yet budgets and headcounts are stuck.

Pivoting is a staple of PR media training. But after the VP debate a few weeks ago, is it still a viable tactic? Does avoiding answering a question still work in this transparent world? Yes and no. (See what we did there?) We asked a group of communicators for their views on pivoting within PR and also in politics. In addition, we asked for best practices. Here’s what they told us.