Category Archives: Public Relations
Hershey’s is experimenting with dried meat
Nothing wrong with expanding or maximizing your income streams. Brands do it all the time. But what do you do when market trends force you to take a long hard look at the falling popularity of what you’re offering? Well, if you’re Hershey’s, you think about taking the emphasis off chocolate and putting it on meat. According to various media reports, the century-old American chocolatier thinks the “dried meat bar” may become the chocolate bar of the 21st century, the guilty pleasure you don’t have Read More +
NBA First to Break Uniform AD Ban
The rumors have been confirmed. The NBA will soon become the first top-tier American sports league to place ads on player jerseys. While the practice is common across the world in soccer (football), rugby and other sports, to date the only major American sports that allowed display ads on the “players” have been Major League Soccer and NASCAR. That’s about to change. Beginning in the 2017-18 season, the NBA will deck their players out in corporate logos. Likely not as garish and omnipresent as auto Read More +
Business as Usual: Is This an Effective PR Crisis Strategy?
After a spiraling sex-scandal between Governor Bentley and his senior advisor, Rebekah Mason, many have watched and waited to see how the Governor would handle it. After several apologies and invoking the forgiveness of God, he then later moved on to another strategy. He went fishing, and posted pictures on his social media to show the world just how he was getting on while scandal threatened to consume his political career. This reaction gained him intense criticism from many onlookers, but the professionals say this Read More +
US soccer faces wage discrimination allegations
U.S. Soccer has a problem. While the men’s team might make more money, the women’s team is far more popular – and successful. This uncomfortable fact has the team and its attorneys challenging a longstanding tenet of for-profit sports. Namely, that men should make more than the ladies playing the same game. In a recent CNN report, Jeffrey Kessler, an attorney representing the women’s team players, said: “The women’s team does the identical work as the men’s team, except they have outperformed in every way Read More +
ACLU weighs in on Apple’s fight with the FBI
The American Civil Liberties Union just entered the battle between Apple CEO Tim Cook and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Not surprisingly, they came in on Apple’s side. The ACLU sent a brief to the federal court looking into Apple’s case against the FBI, basically saying the FBI cannot force Apple to do its job. Here’s the crux of the commentary: “Law enforcement may not commandeer innocent third parties into becoming its undercover agents, its spies, or its hackers … If the government prevails, then Read More +
Safety still a touchy topic in NASCAR
Fifteen years ago this month the world of NASCAR was rocked to its core by the death of racing legend Dale “The Intimidator” Earnhardt. Since that time, the sport’s governing body has taken some steps to improve driver safety. But some NASCAR pilots are saying the measures to date are not good enough. The suggestions are specific, and they are coming from the top names in the sport. Multiple-time champion Jimmie Johnson, NASCAR’s reigning golden boy, wants to see the grass near the tracks replaced Read More +
Keep your best PR employees longer
Hey manager, pop quiz! When do you ask your people “what can I do to get you to stay?” Most people will answer: “when they are getting ready to leave.” Why? At that point, it’s too late. They’ve already gone through the process and made their peace with leaving. Think about it, you have a team member who is either unhappy and actively looking for a new opportunity, or you have a team member who hears about another opportunity. Regardless, their decision to pursue that Read More + Read More +
Quality SEO Benefits The Public Relations Industry
With the advent of Google’s Penguin and Panda algorithms, search spam and lower quality content have rightfully disappeared. While some may think that this means search engine optimization (SEO) is going the way of the dodo, the reality is that Google now rewards good content. This, is a gift for talent public relations pros. Content matters – and PR firms can help a lot and win as a result. The “Good Ole Days” For ages, good SEO meant filling a bag with tactics and tricks Read More +
George Lucas continues personal downward spiral
George Lucas is apologizing, but it may be too late. Like Pinnochio, Lucas’ signature creation grew up and left him. Sure, he got a huge lump sum payment from Disney to part with Total Control of Star Wars, but that doesn’t mean the separation doesn’t sting. Read More +
Could BlackBerry be back?
Once written off as a dinosaur, a permanent also-ran in the mobile device wars, BlackBerry has come roaring back. The secret weapon in this resurgence has been the Priv, the company’s first Android smartphone. Read More +
