Research & Whitepapers

I’ve worked alongside some of the best investor-relations professionals in the business. They are smart, focused and often jaded about the value that public relations can bring to the party. And in many cases, quite frankly, they are right.

Every year, thousands of marketers, agencies, media providers and buyers, branding consultants, industry press and even the occasional PR practitioner converge for four days of speeches, seminars, schmoozing and hyper-networking at the Association of National Marketer’s (ANA) Masters of Marketing Conference.

Despite the constant drumbeat throughout PR and marketing precincts to ramp up spending on social platforms, nearly 60% of senior-level PR executives said they are spending between just 1% and 5% of their overall revenue on social media, according to an exclusive study for PR News conducted by PR consultancy StevensGouldPincus.

Can Handle the Truth: More than two-thirds of consumers in the U.S., UK and China place a high value on honesty and transparency, according to a recent Cohn & Wolfe study.

Hard to believe, but 2014 is just around the corner. Planning is underway, budgets are being set and it seems that marketers will be pivoting their focus next year to meet the demands of the digital consumer.

Earlier this month The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. officially opened The Ritz-Carlton, Chengdu, a 353-room property in southwestern China. During the week leading up the opening, trainers and employees teamed up with local schoolchildren to make Chinese dumplings for seniors living in a nearby home for the elderly.

Company executives are divided on who should manage their social media properties. Nearly 39% said the responsibility should be left to the public relations and communications team, while 35% said it should be left to marketing, according to a recent survey by The Creative Group.

Seeking to more fully integrate the digital world into its newsgathering, Fox News Channel recently rolled out a new newsroom that is stuffed with massive touchscreens and a 38-foot video wall that can be controlled with a Wii-like remote.

“Click.” Did you hear that? That’s the sound of a switch turning on as PR professionals realize they can make revenue gravy.

More than three-quarters (81%) of online shoppers make purchasing decisions based on Facebook and Twitter friend recommendations. And according to a MarketMeSuite study, nearly 40 million teenagers (13-18) admitted that social media sways purchasing decisions.