The Public Relations Blog

Websites like Google provide prime digital space for unsatisfied customers to voice their opinions with little accountability. Whether or not these posts are honest, research reveals that 72% of visitors said they believe the reviews posted online.

This can be very good for a business if the review is positive. However, a bad review can hurt a business’ image overnight – an image it took years to build. Negative reviews, truthful or not, ruin a business’ reputation and require immediate action on the part of the business owner.

Like most industries, the field of public relations keeps evolving, so it’s critical to be aware of trends happening now which will have an effect on PR in the future.

Is Your Customer Base Going to Age Out, or Die Off?

Major League Baseball has a major league problem: A large portion of its audience may be dying off in the next decade or two. Essentially, the audience for professional baseball may be aging out. Have you considered the age demographic of your audience – and whether or not they’ll age out from your brand completely? Will they age into a new audience category that doesn’t relate anymore to your PR messages? Read on for some PR takeaways you can do today to build a stronger audience for tomorrow.

Your Choice of a Spokesperson Speaks Volumes

Popular television shows like “Scandal” and “Spin City” have turned a bright light on the profession of spokesperson. Public relations practitioners are often portrayed as sleazy, fast-talking insiders who will do anything to get their clients out of hot water.

Augmented Reality: not science fiction, just a smart tool for public relations

When we watch movies, we must frequently suspend disbelief. It's the only way we can accept that a man could develop insect-like qualities from a spider bite and that genetic mutants are living among us.

They know who we are. They know what we like. They know what we watch, and where we shop. (The companies we buy from, that is). That data in and of itself is be very useful for both companies and consumers. However, OfficeMax’s recent PR blunder demonstrates important lessons in the challenge of maintaining quality control with data, and shows how not to deal with a PR crisis in your organization concerning data.

In light of recent data problems from major companies, let’s get down to the heart of the matter from the angle of PR and responsibility.

http://tinyurl.com/2014axiamadness

You could say snooty is the new strong, taking an example from the luxury car industry. And it’s OK to be snooty, if that’s what your audience resonates with and responds to.

Forbes recently named Rolls-Royce the king of luxury car sales for the past year, as it’s seen record-breaking numbers and been called stronger than ever. Sales are rocketing in part because of the moxie of Richard Carter, the driving force behind the brand’s communications. Carter shook up the year by dissing the L.A. Convention Center during the Los Angeles Auto Show, and instead hosted a VIP auto event at a mansion in nearby Beverly Hills.

Forget TV. Just stream it, baby. The Internet has nudged many viewers to seek programming on their time and from whatever device they choose. Recently, a company called Aereo began offering network television programming to consumers over the Internet. But it’s not that simple, and it involves a pending Supreme Court lawsuit case. What will the implications be for ad revenues and PR campaigns?

Aereo’s technology utilizes antennas that pick up the networks’ signals, which can be directed through the Internet to Aereo’s paying subscribers.