PR Insights Blog

Drawing upon her experience building a successful marketing communications practice, Tracey Wood Mendelsohn, President and CEO of the Black Public Relations Society of New York (BPRSNY), shares perspective on what it takes to build a PR business and shares her vision for the ways in which the Black Public Relations Society of New York seeks to support African American communications practitioners and be a source of professional development.

Donald Singletary, President of the Singletary Group, shares perspective on success in PR and diversity in the latest Communicators-to-Communicators 3-Minute Insights Video. He also provides insights that are relevant for all communicators, highlighting the importance of learning the “craft of PR” early in his career, including writing, organizing, and effectively engaging with management. Singletary argues that diversity cannot be an add-on, it is a vital part of an organizations’ growth. He states that if a company wants to have the best people at the table it needs to include people from all cultures.

ProPublica’s tag line is “Journalism in the Public’s Interest.” Unfortunately, its recent coverage and subsequent correction around CIA director nominee Gina Haspel’s responsibilities for waterboarding in Thailand is one more self-inflicted wound that undermines the credibility of journalism. If journalism is a little humbler in its ambitions for being the arbiter of the truth, it is less likely be “hoisted by its own petard” when it fails. And, to issue more balanced responses when it doesn’t get things right.

Mike Paul, The Reputation Doctor®, shares some of the lessons he’s learned from managing crises, what not to do, and why speaking the truth to power is so important. Paul is among the first to be called by a global who’s who for crisis situations. Why? Because with 25 years of helping leaders and the famous, he has built a reputation as an invaluable counselor through crises and a no-nonsense speaker of truth to power. Watch the 3-Minute Insights Video.

Connecting with women through communications requires we acknowledge not only their purchasing power, but also their individualism. Linda Landers, founder of Girlpower Marketing, shares strategies for talking to women without falling victim to common stereotyping traps.

Time to add “slow” to PR and marketing. We need to resist the urge to “chase the tail” of technology if we are to build PR and communications programs that create value and engagement. Strategies to consider: In a fast world, think slow. In a complex world, think simple. In an anonymous world, think personal. And, in a noisy world, think quiet.

Suresh Raj of global communications agency, Zeno Group, discusses the “human” context that should drive integrated communications strategies; why a brand’s social purpose is a priority for millennials; and the importance of telling stories that relate to human beings.

Communications can be used as a strategic tool to tackle the $1.6 trillion cost of customer service issues says Denise Graziano, CEO of Graziano Associates. She highlights the importance of listening to customers, empowering customer facing teams to solve problems and messaging with intent in this Communicators-to-Communicators 3-Minute Insights Video on CommunicationsMatch in which she highlights the role of communications in improving customer experience.

Social media has become an integral part of our lives. Today it’s hard to find a person who is not active on social media and it’s even harder to find someone who can live without it. Holding this much importance, it is no surprise that the fate of a site or a page also depends on social media - if not directly, then indirectly it affects the chances of a business’ success.

PR was ranked the most important communications discipline to business success in our 2017 PR & Communications Agency Search Report. In my guest blog for Deirdre Breakenridge's PR Expanded blog, I argue it's because the definition of what PR means has evolved (It's PR Expanded) and media coverage remains as important as it was when the discipline was established.