Reputation

Last week,  we talked with Joshua Otten, CEO of Ronin, the largest branding agency for cannabis and hemp businesses. We spoke about his journey from PRØHBTD to Ronin, how quality content can make the difference between a commodity and a lifestyle, and why the future of cannabis branding will live on streaming services.

When it comes to newsjacking, there’s a thin line between victory and defeat. Some brands can come off as desperate without well-crafted messaging. Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel with a new marketing campaign, sometimes a great strategy can come just from social listening.

Depending on where you live you might have the winter blues. Believe it or not, this is a real condition. As you will read in this case study, Arizona used the winter blues as part of a social campaign to encourage tourism. Turns out Arizona is the country’s sunniest state.

This is one in a series of articles about the history of PR as part of our celebration of PRNEWS’ 75th anniversary. The series is part of a partnership with the Museum of Public Relations. This article looks at Ivy Lee, considered the father of PR. Some 100 years ago Lee established foundations for much of what PR pros do to this day. The list includes the press release, crisis communications and branding, which he did for John D. Rockefeller.

It seems basic, but too often communicators ignore an obvious part of good messaging. The audience is key. It will determine whether or not to accept your message. Most of us are so obsessed with what we’re saying that we ignore this. Put yourself in the audience’s shoes. In other words, think about your message from the outside in.

The average person is overloaded with content. Bombarded with ads, email, text and video, many of us have turned off. We ignore nearly everything. Into this hostile climate comes the communicator. Instead of throwing up your hands, we offer author Jamie Mustard, who provides some basic solutions to this complicated problem.

The turkey has been picked apart, the wishbone wished upon, and the rounds of coffee are morphing into stronger beverages. It’s the day after Thanksgiving. Yet some family members have vanished. They’re braving the crowds at the mall on Black Friday. How should PR craft messages about retail brands opening (or closing) their doors today?

While these may seem like gag gifts for some, influencers and super fans will fork over serious cash to own a piece of brand loyalty—which they can show off from all social media platforms. It’s probably too late to get on the trendy grab list for this year, but there is something to be learned from brands like Red Lobster, Hidden Valley Ranch and others, going the extra mile to connect with their consumers.

South Dakota’s PR campaign around the state’s methamphetamine epidemic accomplished what it set out to do—create awareness around a state-wide health crisis. But the play on words, “Meth. We’re on it,” superimposed over pictures of teens, farmers and older women, also ignited a debate about the high cost of quick-won awareness, and whether it’s true that “there’s no such thing as bad PR.”

Last week, Uber reported $1 billion in losses, despite its third-quarter results beating estimates. This week, an angry social media mob reacted to Khosrowshahi’s comments by keeping the #BoycottUber hashtag trending all of Monday, dragging out many of the company’s skeletons in the process. For PR pros, the latest round of calls to #BoycottUber also contains many lessons around what constitutes good, and bad, investor relations. Here’s what we learned.