The Top 5 Publicity Stunts of 2009

2009 was the year of the celebrity publicity stunt. If it wasn’t celebrities themselves angling for the limelight, it was the non-famous seeking celebrity thanks to the influence of reality TV. Without further ado, were the top 5 publicity stunts of 2009: (Read more…)

10 CringeWorthy PR Disasters

“Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

As Mrs. Roosevelt said, learning from the mistakes of others is an important way to become better at what you do. The good news for us PR folks is there are plenty of mistakes made by others that we can learn from. Just take a look at these 10 PR disasters. (Read more…)

The Dos and Don’ts of Handling Customer Complaints

The way your company responds to customer complaints goes a long way to shaping how the public perceives you. Just look at my previous post: @Target Customer Service = Fail. (Read more…)

Twenty Minutes With Tiger Woods

Mickie Kennedy Blasts the Media for Accepting Tiger Woods’ Silence (Read more…)

PR Defensive Playbook: When Crisis Strikes, Will You Be Ready?

For most of us, the word “crisis” brings to mind something on the scale of Hurricane Katrina or September 11th. For businesses and the public relations professionals who advise them, a crisis can be anything from a disgruntled customer or former employee to a product recall, nasty blog post or negative publicity in a news story. (Read more…)

The True Cost of Bad Publicity

It has been said that “there’s no such thing as bad publicity.” Looking around today, it’s clear that some companies still buy into this. (Read more…)

When It Comes to Negative Press, You Get to Choose Your Own PR Adventure

You are a PR executive at a Midwestern picnic basket manufacturer, and a local newspaper reporter recently ran a story about your company’s practices. Though the facts of the story as reported were correct, the report was slanted to portray your company in an unwarrantedly negative light. What do you do? (Read more…)

Speedo’s High Tech Swimsuit to Sink or Swim by PR Effort?

It can’t be good to be Speedo right now. The company’s LZR Racer high-tech body suit has set swimming records and created buzz well beyond the competitive swimming community. (Read more…)

Manufacturing Controversy to Drum Up Public Relations

Everyone has heard about KFC’s major Oprah goof where so many people requested a free two-piece meal of the fast food company’s new grilled chicken, it simply wasn’t able to meet demand. Local news outlets aired footage of people being turned away from stores. (Read more…)

Public Relations Basics: Avoiding Press Leaks and Fixing Mistakes

In the world of public relations, press leaks can be damaging affairs. Sensitive internal information being sent to journalists can wreck a company’s reputation, cost it customers or clients, or even land it in legal hot water. But how can public relations consultants prevent press leaks, or at least clean up the damage they wreak? (Read more…)