[Originally posted on Forbes.com.] I recently received an intriguing email from a former branding executive who now runs a small marketing consulting company. Nancy Shenker, whose new venture is called theONswitch, found a way to build a personal brand by breaking rules, being rebellious and tapping into her self-professed “dark side.” It sounds like a [...]
Apr 02, 2013 | Categories:Brands, Features | Tags: Alanis Morissette, Amy Poehler, bad girl, Bad Girl Good Business, Betty White, brand, branding, breaking rules, direct, glass ceiling, Hillary Clinton, injustice, innovating, innovation, inspirational, irreverent, Judith Regan, Nancy Drew, Nancy Shenker, Nancy Sinatra, personal brand, PR, public relations, rebellious, resourceful, results, role model, Sheryl Crow, stereotype, theONswitch, Tina Fey, Tina Turner, women | Leave A Comment »
[Originally posted on Forbes.com.] When it comes to family names as brand names, unless you’ve done something terrible or had the bad fortune of sharing a name with someone who did, it’s hard to do much worse than “Trump.” For most of the past four decades, the Donald has slapped his name on some of [...]
Mar 27, 2013 | Categories:Brands, CSR, Features, Insights, PR | Tags: affair, Barron Trump, brand, brand name, branding, cause, celebrity, divorce, Donald, Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Elle Decor, Eric Trump, Eric Trump Foundation, family name, footwear, giving back, golden ticket, handbags, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, jewelry, liability, Los Angeles, Marla Maples, New York, New York City, Operation Smile, personal brand, PR, public relations, St. Jude, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, The Apprentice, The New York Observer, The Wharton School, Tiffany Trump, Trump, Trump Organization, University of Pennsylvania, Yahoo, Yahoo Shine | Leave A Comment »
[Originally posted on Forbes.com.] Even though Lance Armstrong has been in the news for months—the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s incriminatory report was released in early October, though speculation was raging well before that—he’s really just at the beginning of his problems. From a crisis management and personal branding standpoint, he has a long road ahead [...]
Feb 01, 2013 | Categories:Brands, Features, Media, PR | Tags: apology, Ashley Olsen, athlete, brand, branding, CNN, crisis communications, crisis management, cycling, doping, drugs, Forbes.com, fraud, interview, Jake Tapper, Lance Armstrong, Livestrong, Matthew McConaughey, Media, media consultant, Oprah Winfrey, performance-enhancing drugs, personal branding, PR, public relations, publicity, reboot, rehabilitation, responsibility, Sheryl Crow, Social Media, sportsmanship, The New York Times, United States Anti-Doping Agency | Leave A Comment »
Having worked on many cause-marketing initiatives at Havas PR for the past three years, from veterans support to Haiti earthquake relief, I am thrilled to be helping out an education program recognized for its great work in traditional and Indian law. Education projects have always been a passion of mine. I currently run an after-school [...]
Dec 05, 2012 | Categories:CSR, Features, Media, PR | Tags: 12 Days of Havas, American Indians, corporate social responsibility, CSR, giving, indigenous peoples, Indigenous Peoples Law & Policy Program, James Anaya, James E. Rogers College of Law, law school, media relations, Native Americans, public relations, tribal governments, University of Arizona | Leave A Comment »
On Dec. 12, Havas PR will launch its new publishing wing, 120M Books, with its first e-book, What’s Next? What to Expect in 2013. To celebrate, Havas PR is launching the 12 Days of Havas, an initiative for which staff will donate time to a different charitable organization every day for 12 straight days leading [...]
Nov 30, 2012 | Categories:CSR, Features, PR | Tags: #GivingTuesday, 12 Days of Havas, 12/12/12, 120M Books, agency initiative, charitable giving, charities, City Harvest, collaboration, corporate social responsibility, creativity, CSR, giving, GMHC, Havas PR, holidays, Hurricane Sandy, Jay Williams, Madison Avenue, passion, public relations, publishing, rebranding, Ronald McDonald House, thought leadership, volunteering | 2 Comments »
[Originally posted on PRWeek.com.] This is the third in a series of three posts that will discuss what I see as a PR émigré managing in a world where evolution meets revolution. It is in our hands, we read about it daily, it is going to define the current decade, and each of us (if [...]
Oct 26, 2012 | Categories:Brands, Features, Insights, PR, Technology | Tags: Adobe, Barack Obama, Benjamin Franklin, Havas PR, ideas, innovation, newscrafting, PR, PRWeek, public relations, Steve Jobs, trendspotting | Leave A Comment »
[Originally posted on PRWeek.com.] This is the second in a series of three posts that will discuss what I see as a PR émigré managing in a world where evolution meets revolution. Some cities always attract the limelight. New York and Paris have rich pasts full of historic events and interesting people that will always [...]
Oct 25, 2012 | Categories:Brands, Features, PR, Social Media, Trends | Tags: Amtrak, Bill Clinton, Brands, Buddy Cianci, C-suite, cities, Cory Booker, David Jones, digital at the core, evolution, Havas, John Wren, Martha Stewart, Newark, One Young World, personal branding, Pittsburgh, place making, PR, Providence, PRWeek, public relations, Richard Branson, Sir Martin Sorrell, solutions mindset, Tony Hsieh, transparency, Trends | Leave A Comment »
[Originally posted on PRWeek.com.] This is the first in a series of three posts that will discuss what I see as a PR émigré managing in a world where evolution meets revolution. You’ve heard it said that the future is now. That’s much closer to the truth than it was even a half-decade ago. I [...]
Oct 24, 2012 | Categories:Brands, Features, PR, Technology, Trends | Tags: Apple, future, Havas, iPhone, Media, newscrafting, normal, place making, PR, PR tools, PRWeek, public relations, supercities, Technology, the economy, The End of Normal, tools, trendspotting | Leave A Comment »
This just in: @erwwpr is ranked No. 3 among the world’s 23 largest public relations agencies for effectiveness of our network’s primary social media presence. At the beginning of this year, Sociagility ranked us No. 6, so we’ve climbed three spots in just eight months. On the scoreboard this time around, we were judged on [...]
Jul 30, 2012 | Categories:Agency News, PR, Social Media | Tags: Brands, public relations, Sociagility, Social Media | Leave A Comment »
[Originally posted on the Holmes Report.] I have now seen Cannes from the inside, as a judge in the PR categories, and I will soon be going home with a head full of ideas for how we can reinvent our business—plus a suitcase full of dirty clothes, a permanent rosé hangover, information overload and some [...]
Jun 21, 2012 | Categories:Brands, CSR, Features, Health and Wellness, Insights, PR | Tags: Alzheimer's, Australia, autism, big ideas, budget, Cannes, Cannes Lions, cause, CSR, Down syndrome, insights tools, Japan, jury, La Redoute, PR, public relations, Puerto Rico, Romania, Sweden, the Netherlands, tsunami | Leave A Comment »
[Originally posted on Euro RSCG’s Social Life and Social Media blog.] If we want to characterize the growth in many industries as slowing to a plateau, then the PR industry’s growth might be best described as mountainous. Whether we recognize it or not, there’s a change in our society that is turning people into social [...]
Jun 20, 2012 | Categories:Features, PR, Social Media, Trends | Tags: balance, consumers, Facebook, iPhone, news, PR, public relations, Social Media, social networking, Trends, Twitter | Leave A Comment »
Many of you reading this have worked in marketing, advertising or PR and have made a lifelong career out of building brands and selling products in many categories. But have you ever taken the time to think of what you have to offer the world as a product? Maybe it’s your ability to write great [...]
Jun 13, 2012 | Categories:Advertising, Brands, Features, Marketing, PR, Social Media, Technology, Trends | Tags: adland, Advertising, Advertising Age, Apple, Brand Me, freelancing, linchpins, Marketing, personal brand, Pinterest, polyglots, PR, public relations, self-curation, Seth Godin | Leave A Comment »
I walked into the One Young House kitchen and saw bubbles everywhere. The dishwasher was spewing soapy, bubbly water at a rapid pace. “Cassie! Cassie!” I screamed. Cassie saw the mess on the floor and then the look on my face. She burst out laughing. We both did. A few minutes later, the situation became [...]
May 29, 2012 | Categories:Features, One Young House, PR, Social Media, Technology, Youth | Tags: journalism, One Young House, One Young World, Pittsburgh, Politics, PR, public relations, team | Leave A Comment »
Anticipation, they say, is often more nerve-wracking than completing the task. I, along with three other interns, could not wait to start working with @erwwpr and One Young World. Feeling on top of the world as we stepped into the castle-looking PPG Place, we began our summer adventure. As you might know, the One Young [...]
May 22, 2012 | Categories:CSR, Features, Media, One Young House, PR, Social Media, Youth | Tags: communication, interns, internship, journalism, One Young House, One Young World, Pittsburgh, public relations, video editing | Leave A Comment »
[Originally posted on the Huffington Post.] In this election year, I’ve been on fear watch. Folks are fearful of everything from 2012 theories to GMOs to student loans taking over as the No. 1 source of pain for college grads everywhere. A few years ago, I talked at length about the cult of anger our [...]
May 07, 2012 | Categories:Advertising, Brands, Features, Insights, PR, Social Media, Youth | Tags: 9/11, Advertising, anger, Brands, business, Chevy, Chrysler, college, consumer confidence, Daniel Gardner, fear, fearless, fearlessness, France, French elections, Generation Y, Germany, GMOs, Google, Hermes, hope, Israel, Japan, Martin Luther King Jr., Obama, Palestine, PR, presidential election, public relations, retail, South Sudan, student loan debt, student loans, suburbs, World War II | Leave A Comment »
When Republican candidate Rick Santorum was quizzed about a passage skewering “radical feminists” in his 2005 book, he admitted that the quote was “new to me” and suggested that his wife, Karen, had authored that portion, though she received no co-writing credit. This hiccup in Santorum’s campaign points not just to how common ghostwriting remains [...]
Mar 22, 2012 | Categories:Brainsnacks, Politics, PR, Trends | Tags: academic ghostwriters, celebrity ghostwriting, CEO ghostwriting, ghostwriters, ghostwriting, Han Han, Karen Santorum, political ghostwriting, public relations, public relations trends, Rick Santorum | Leave A Comment »
Biking: a boon to the environment or urban nuisance on wheels? It depends on whom you ask. Turns out that the growing number of bicyclists in cities around the world are subject to a bit of a backlash—call it a “backpedal.” And nowhere are the complaints more loudly heard than in New York City (natch). [...]
Jan 27, 2012 | Categories:Advertising, Brainsnacks, Marketing, Politics, PR, Trends | Tags: Advertising, American cyclists, bicycle, bicycle accident, bicyclist, biking, biking accident, British cyclists, Dutch cyclists, environmental movements, global trends, Marketing, Politics, public relations, transportation trends | Leave A Comment »
St. Petersburg, Fla., is the saddest U.S. city; Austin the funniest; and Nashville the manliest. The loneliest city on the entire planet? Dublin. And the very best city to live in all the world is … (drumroll, please) … Vancouver. Have qualms with any of these or questions about how they were chosen? So do [...]
Jan 25, 2012 | Categories:Brainsnacks, Brands, PR, Social Media | Tags: Advertising, Austin, city lists, city rankings, Detroit, Dublin, happiest city, Marketing, marketing trends, Nashville, public relations, saddest city, Social Media, sponsorship, St. Petersburg, Top 10 lists, transportation, urban planning, Vancouver | Leave A Comment »
A massage before take-off. An in-flight shower. Three-star meals. These days, first-class flights are more dramatically luxurious than ever before—in stark comparison to the spartan amenities afforded those occupying the back portion of the plane. Though first-class passengers account for just 5 percent of those on long-haul routes, and business class passengers for 15 percent, [...]
Dec 20, 2011 | Categories:Advertising, Brainsnacks, Brands, PR, Social Media, Trends | Tags: Advertising, aviation, branding, economics, first class, flight, luxury market, Occupy Wall Street, plane, public relations, reality television, Social Media, Southwest Airlines, Twitter | Leave A Comment »
Now that the social media footprint of corporate brands has been directly linked to a company’s growth and value, more emphasis is being put on the how-tos of branding via social media. For one, there’s the matter of “likes” and comments and how to get them. Comments, especially, are valuable to brands, as they lead [...]
Dec 05, 2011 | Categories:Brainsnacks, Brands, Fashion, Social Media, Technology, Trends | Tags: Advertising, Bank of America, branding, damage control, Facebook, Google Plus, Harvard Business School, Marketing, promotion, public relations, Social Media, Tory Burch, Twitter | Leave A Comment »
[Originally posted on the Huffington Post.] Everybody’s talking about the inevitable social media fatigue setting in, but I myself am having a wicked case of brain blur. At any given time, my head is filled with ways to solve problems that often have no answer, as in trying to make sense of how to communicate [...]
Nov 04, 2011 | Categories:Features, Marketing, Media, PR, Social Media | Tags: ABC, Amanda Knox, Amazon, blur, brain blur, J.C. Penney, Jeff Bezos, Marketing, McDonald's, Microsoft, Missoni, PR, public relations, Social Media, social media fatigue, Steve Jobs, Target, Twitter, Wal-Mart, Wall Street, Yahoo | Leave A Comment »
[Originally posted on the Huffington Post.] Behold the velocity of change, where technology has enabled a Mach 11 approach to spreading and receiving information. And as an outcome of all this now-or-now business, the rumor mill is not only buzzing but also shouting down the lane. It’s not at all unlike the virus portrayed in [...]
Nov 01, 2011 | Categories:Brands, Features, PR, Social Media, Technology | Tags: Anthony Weiner, Apple, Ashton Kutcher, buzz, change, China, Demi Moore, Facebook, freedom of speech, hype, Internet, iPhone, Kodak, Los Angeles Times, McDonald's, Occupy Wall Street, PR, public relations, Sina Weibo, Social Media, TMZ, transparency, Vladimir Putin, Whole Foods | Leave A Comment »
As a communications professional, I value the importance of fully communicating to one’s public through various media during any type of crisis. We had a big weather crisis this week in the New York City tristate area with the arrival of Hurricane Irene, and for many Long Island residents it grew into a communications crisis, [...]
Sep 02, 2011 | Categories:Features, PR, Social Media | Tags: communications, crisis, Facebook, Hurricane Irene, Long Island, Newsday, power outage, PR, public relations, tweet, Twitter | Leave A Comment »
[Originally posted on the Holmes Report.] I never liked the name Irene. Growing up in New Jersey, I had a crazy aunt with that very name, a religious zealot of sorts who would occasionally swoop into our suburban promised land from Brooklyn (when it wasn’t cool) and frighten me with her views. I have a [...]
Sep 01, 2011 | Categories:Features, Insights, PR, Social Media | Tags: Barack Obama, Brooklyn, communications, earthquake, East Coast, Facebook, Hurricane Irene, Hurricane Katrina, Media, Michael Bloomberg, New York City, PR, public relations, The New York Times, The Weather Channel, Twitter, weather | Leave A Comment »
