Our weekly roundup of news, trends and personnel moves in PR and communications. This week’s stories include Papa John’s deflection onto the NFL; a judge tells Wells Fargo’s board and senior executives they should have known; and IBM’s Jon Iwata is getting set to retire.
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Woman Who Flipped Off Trump’s Motorcade Fired for Violating Social Media Policy
November 6th, 2017 by Samantha WoodJuli Briskman, who worked in marketing and communications, was fired from Akima LLC for using the photo of her flipping-off President Trump’s motorcade as her profile photo. While we don’t know Akima’s exact social media policy, many companies have taken similar actions—in the eyes of employers, an employee’s personal social media pages reflect on a company.

After Texas Church Shooting, NRA Blunders on Twitter
November 6th, 2017 by Ian James WrightScheduling tweets and recycling old content are best practices, but the NRA failed to take into account that it is an extremely crisis-prone brand and scheduled a tweet that looked insensitive in the context of the Texas church shooting. This should be addressed in every brand’s crisis plan.

Pizza Wars: Attack of the Papa John’s Competitors
November 3rd, 2017 by Samantha WoodWhen Papa John’s blamed its declining sales on the issue of NFL players kneeling during the national anthem, many found the correlation hard to believe. DiGiorno Pizza saw the opportunity to call them out for it on Twitter and did not hold back, while Pizza Hut subtly thrust itself into the spotlight.

Another Flap for Twitter After Trump Account Blackout
November 3rd, 2017 by Sophie MaerowitzA difficult week for Twitter continued with an 11-minute shutdown of President Trump’s Twitter account. What steps Twitter plans to take to prevent another hijacking of the most influential Twitter account in the U.S. remain to be seen.

Walmart, Uber, Home Depot Caught in the Crossfire of a Violent Week
November 2nd, 2017 by Ian James WrightAs so often happens when a violent tragedy strikes and claims human lives, brands were taken along for the sad and sobering ride this week. As the usual questions about gun control and immigration arise for America, questions arise as well for Walmart, The Home Depot and Uber about what and how they should communicate to their stakeholders to reassure and to help.

PR Advice for Hillary Clinton After Brazile Report in Politico
November 2nd, 2017 by Seth ArensteinBy now, nearly everyone in Washington, D.C., has heard about the seemingly damaging article in this morning’s Politico. Former DNC chair Donna Brazile writes that she has solid proof that the Hillary Clinton campaign rigged the party’s nomination. The question for PR pros, of course, is what advice would you offer to Hillary Clinton now? Should she contest the article, hold a press conference, release a statement or remain silent?

Lessons for PR During Journalism’s Bad Week
November 1st, 2017 by Seth ArensteinIt’s been a bad stretch for journalism as several top-flight writers and editors have been brought down due to sexual harassment charges. As journalists and PR professionals are part of the same milieu, it’s an unhappy moment for communicators, too. Still, PR pros have jobs to do. There are several lessons they should take from the incidents of the past few weeks.

5 Key Questions to Ask Before Creating Your Measurement Dashboard
November 1st, 2017 by Samantha WoodTherese Van Ryne, head of global PR and the global customer reference program at Zebra Technologies, shares five key questions that a PR or marketing pro needs to ask before setting up a dashboard that effectively evaluates your campaign performance or share of voice.

Spooktacular Marketing: 3 Brands That Are Killing It This Halloween
October 31st, 2017 by Jerry AsciertoWhile Halloween is always a boon for candy and costume makers—and, tangentially, dentists—many brands have done a scary good job of capitalizing on the holiday this year. Here are three hair-raising examples, including Burger King’s “It”-inspired clip and a spine-tingling and inspired Snapchat filter from Netflix.