Reputation

With emergency approval of vaccines, the need to communicate the importance of prompt vaccination seems obvious: Without 75-80 percent of Americans vaccinated, herd immunity, leading to a return to normalcy, will not be reached. And now, with the discovery of an additional, more contagious virus strain, getting Americans vaccinated promptly seems even more critical.

It’s not news that Thanksgiving 2020 will look different for many families across America. But brands should not confuse different with indifferent. Americans remain hungry for turkey and all the holiday traditions. For brands that read the room, Thanksgiving offers potential opportunities to engage the public, writes veteran PR pro Mike McDougall.

PRNEWS is pleased to announce the honorees for this year’s PR People and Rising Stars Awards. From internal communications and community relations to crisis management, media relations and beyond, the individuals recognized this year cover the wide breadth and depth of the industry.

Upon first glance, you might think pharmaceutical companies are in a race to become the first to develop and administer a COVID-19 vaccine. This belief strengthens with every announcement coming out from Pfizer last week or Moderna, as we saw today. But communicators might want to look a little deeper, as a race can completely devalue the important, strategic work healthcare communicators do. The power of collaboration, rather than competition, emerges as the true message sent with each news release.

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. 

The US presidential election is all about competing personal brands, argue two executives at Ipsos, one of the world’s largest public opinion polling companies. Though the president has a formidable road ahead, his brand-loyal base could inject some surprises into the contest.

Celebrities—they’re just like us. That sentiment worked in the era of celebrity spotting on beaches and in Whole Foods, but in a pandemic year, audiences are not interested. Kim Kardashian West, arguably the internet’s first celebrity influencer, is in the crosshairs of the social media masses this week after posting photos from a lavish island gathering with friends and family. How would you advise her to respond?

Marketing and communication professionals gathered virtually Tuesday to celebrate honorees selected for the PRNEWS Platinum Awards, which recognize excellence across people, teams and campaigns.

For many this holiday season, it is not, in fact, the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. “Peanuts” fans nationwide were dismayed to find out that the fall favorite will run exclusively on AppleTV+, Apple’s paid streaming service. While the special will be free to non-subscribers for a limited period, would-be viewers were not shy about expressing their displeasure. The snafu teaches communicators a valuable lesson this holiday season: Now is not the time to mess with what few annual traditions we have left.

As we head to Nov. 3, brands and organizations are touting get-out-the-vote efforts. While these non-partisan efforts are the norm, will consumers’ desires for brands to take a stand lead companies to begin endorsing candidates?