You don’t have to look far to find examples of people and organizations screwing up. So as tempting as it may be to pile onto Uber’s woes or the latest airline mess, Katie Paine uses this edition of Image Patrol to look at the follow-up to crises. What you do is very important, but so is how you respond, ie, the way people and brands say they’re sorry – or don’t.
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The Week In PR
May 15th, 2017 by PRNEWSOur weekly roundup of trends, news and personnel moves in communications and PR. This week we have stories about The Macallan scotch using touchable, more woes for United, interactive video for storytelling, the PR lessons from the Comey firing and Reuters finds the identities of influencers and brands who received FTC letters.

Few Agree on Definition of an American Brand
May 15th, 2017 by Seth ArensteinBrands are grappling with several issues that have become political with the new administration in Washington, D.C., including energy policies and immigration. Data from APCO Worldwide , shared with PRNews Pro exclusively, looks at the issues surrounding buy American, hire American, namely, What is an American brand?

PETA Led Nonprofits in Facebook, Instagram Engagement in Q4 2016
May 8th, 2017 by Seth ArensteinOur regular look at social media metrics with exclusive data provided to us by Shareablee. In our final look at data from 2016, we examine how nonprofits and governmental organizations did in terms of consumer engagement with their posts and videos on Instagram and Facebook.

The Week in PR
May 8th, 2017 by Seth ArensteinOur weekly roundup of trends, news items and personnel announcements. This week we debate whether or not it’s good for brands to admit their mistakes quickly (Chipotle) or wait until they’re forced to do so and risk death by 1,000 cuts (Wells Fargo, Volkswagen and Fox News Channel). And do you get turned on by the smell of pizza baking? You’re not alone. And IPR plans a report detailing CCO pain points.

Consumer Engagement With B2B Brands on Instagram Up 54% in Q4 ’16
May 1st, 2017 by Seth ArensteinThere’s little question that brands, even so-called unglamorous B2B brands that might seem to lack a compelling visual story, are finding Instagram a useful outlet for messaging. That was illustrated in our lead story last… Continued

Pandora Puts Audience First and Sales Second as It Builds Thought Leadership on LinkedIn
May 1st, 2017 by Seth ArensteinMany PR pros tend to ignore LinkedIn as a messaging platform for their brands. Shame. LinkedIn said Apr. 24 it has 500 million members. That’s up from August, when it said it had 450 million members. This announcement prompted us to think about how brands can tap into the LinkedIn base with their messages. We asked a brand communicator as well as a LinkedIn executive about best practices for brands trying to build engagement and market services on the platform.

United, Pepsi and Uber: Proof That PR Must Be Strategic Advisor to Brands
May 1st, 2017 by Adriana StanPR is about advising top management and ensuring that ethical business practices, good judgment and transparency are not only communicated, but implemented and enforced, argues Adriana Stan, PR director for W magazine. If you are Uber, United or Pepsi these lessons are clear by now, she says.

How Cottman Transmission and Total Auto Care Found Its Storytelling Heart
May 1st, 2017 by Derik BeckSometimes the idea you need is right in front of you. With PR and marketing pros enmeshed in their brand, it’s easy to miss obvious angles. A helpful idea is to clear the mind and try to look at your messaging with a fresh perspective. Looking at your brand sideways can help, writes an executive at Cottman Transmission and Total Auto Care.

The Week in PR
May 1st, 2017 by Seth ArensteinOur weekly roundup of news, trends and personnel announcements in PR, communications and marketing. This week stories featured include one about United Airlines settling with Dr. David Dao and CEO Oscar Munoz repenting for the widely viewed video of the doctor being dragged down the aisle of a United Flight. There’s also a story about ESPN illustrating how lines are blurring between internal and external communications.