The challenges communicators face are growing more complex. Understanding how to address increasingly divided audiences, blurred lines between internal and external communications and integration of AI into workflows requires preparation, adaptation and the ability to build bridges.

These ideas were recurring themes at Ragan’s Future of Communications Conference, the flagship event of CommsWeek 2024.

During a webinar recapping takeaways from the event, Mike Prokopeak, director of learning and council content for Ragan’s Communications Leadership Council, spoke to two council members and winners of Ragan’s inaugural Vanguard Awards — John Cirone, senior director of global employee and executive communications at Microsoft, and Tara Darrow, vice president, corporate and financial communications, values and reputation and executive brand at T-Mobile — about the lessons that stuck with them.

Communications priorities in the new year

As organizations brace for 2025, communicators must focus on aligning with corporate priorities while embracing new tools and techniques. This means:

• Aligning communications with core business goals. This will require balancing internal and external messaging priorities while making room to try new things and innovate alongside new products and org structures.
• Dedicating time for experimentation with emerging tools like AI.
  • “It’s about making AI a daily habit,” said Cirone. “Carving out space to experiment with tools like Copilot allows us to uncover ways to work smarter while staying aligned with the company’s priorities.”
  • “AI streamlines the repetitive tasks so we can focus on higher value work that truly drives business outcomes,” Darrow agreed. “It takes the busy work off our plates.”
•  Staying agile and anticipating external challenges.
  • Darrow’s focus at T-Mobile is guided by a three-year strategic plan that emphasizes agility to fulfill a dual mission of both driving and transforming the business.
  • Both leaders spoke to the urgency of being prepared for shifting regulatory environments and emerging social issues. “We need to be ready to engage where it matters most while staying true to our values as a company,” Darrow said.

Adapting to the ‘shattered glass’ media ecosystem

Both Darrow and Cirone agreed with the metaphor of today’s media landscape feeling like “shattered glass,” with news and information flowing from endless platforms, voices and nontraditional outlets like podcasts or Substack sites.

Navigating this will require:

• Integrating traditional and emerging media platforms into a cohesive, holistic strategy.
  • Traditional PR methods like solely relying on press releases no longer cut it. Balancing an ever-expanding array of channels and platforms requires going where your intended audiences are most active in a way that feels like an authentic fit for the brand.
  • “News is coming from everywhere—TikTok, Instagram, podcasts, social media and traditional outlets,” Darrow said. “This fragmentation forces us to integrate across platforms, from influencers to customer voices, in ways we hadn’t before.”
• Making sense of external messaging for internal audiences.
  • As employees look for internal messaging to find clarity amid the noise, communicators become the translators of this ecosystem—and how their organization exists within it.
  • “A decade ago, employees cited external sources as their most trusted information channels. Today, our internal channels dominate, which reflects a shift in how employees prioritize trusted communication from their organization,” said Cirone.

Addressing the internal-external overlap

Cirone’s point illustrates just one example where the line between internal and external communications blurs. When this happens, communicators must adapt their approaches to address changing employee demands. Employees can be your most vocal external stakeholders and move from advocate to activist pretty quickly when they feel unheard and unsupported—even amplifying internal messages on public platforms.

You can mitigate this by:

• Creating a messaging strategy that aligns internal and external narratives.
  • “The internal world is the external world now, and vice versa,” said Darrow. “It’s critical to create cohesive messaging that reflects the nuances of both.”
• Training your comms team to approach each challenge with a holistic mindset.
  • “Specialization can make it harder to see risks across the broader communication spectrum,” Cirone said. “We’re upskilling our teams to think holistically and consider multiple perspectives.”

Building bridges in a divided world

Communicators today serve as bridge builders, conveners and dot connectors who engage disparate and divided audiences through empathy and narrative.

This is made easier by:

• Using storytelling as a tool to connect and unify.
  • Darrow believes that the power of words is strong enough to bring adversaries together. “Through storytelling, we help connect people across divides, shaping conversations in ways that resonate deeply with our audiences,” she said.
• Developing frameworks that identify and evaluate strategic engagement opportunities.
  • T-Mobile’s “Lean Team” framework helps the comms team assess whether to lean into or out of conversations based on an established set of criteria.
• Grounding your comms strategies in data.
  • Darrow emphasized that this framework is ultimately a data-driven exercise. “We rely on data to understand the value and risk of engagement, ensuring we’re present where it matters and silent when it’s best,” she explained.
  • Cirone agreed and explained that data-driven decision-making moves the comms function from a tactical to a strategic place. “Communicators need to show their impact, not just their value, by grounding strategies in data and aligning them with organizational goals,” he said.

The future is unwritten

As communicators prepare for an uncertain future, there’s certainty in building skilled, diverse teams with the ability to navigate change.

“The impact of communications lies in its ability to drive change and act as a trusted advisor to leadership,” said Cirone. “Focus on building teams that complement your strengths and amplify your goals.”

Darrow agreed, boldfacing the idea that seeking alignment across stakeholders and staying agile will keep comms in the mix.

“If your feet are planted, you’re not contributing,” she said. “You have to keep moving, shifting and evolving to stay relevant.”

Register now to access the full, free webinar here.

Darrow and Cirone are both members of Ragan’s Communications Leadership Council. Learn more about joining here. 

The post Breaking through in 2025: Microsoft and T-Mobile leaders share CommsWeek takeaways appeared first on PR Daily.

Someone insists on using the Oxford comma no matter how many times you tell them not to. Brad overuses hyphens like they’re going out of style. And Janet, for some reason, insists on using British spellings..

AI can help.

If you’re using a set style, such as AP  or MLA, you can simply ask your AI of choice to edit according to that style guide. Or if you have an in-house document that guides your style use, you have two options.

For a quick and dirty method, you can simply upload or copy and paste the style document, then upload the document you want to edit and  check against that style. You can simply repeat this process every time.

Or you can create a custom GPT that only requires you to upload the style document(s) once. You can then share it throughout the organization. This requires marginally more setup on the front end but can pay off in time savings down the road. You will need a paid ChatGPT account to create a custom GPT.

When editing, ask the AI to highlight the changes it’s making so you can doublecheck its work. Never trust AI without verifying – in some instances, it may swear up and down it’s removed all the Oxford commas while it hasn’t removed a single one.

Trust but verify, always.

Allison Carter is editor-in-chief of PR Daily. Follow her on Bluesky or LinkedIn.

The post One Big AI Idea: Make AI your style editor appeared first on PR Daily.

Braden McMillan is director of communications at the Business Council of British Columbia. 

“We need a press release!”

It’s a request that those of us in PR and communications hear all too often. If it’s not a press release, it’s “this should be on our website,” or my favorite: “this will go viral on TikTok.”

Whether in a corporate boardroom or on a call with a client, the fast-paced world of PR is rife with big ideas and demands for fast action. Yet, amid these pressures, it’s crucial to remember one thing: It’s strategy that delivers results, not tactics.

Tactics are an essential part of any strategy, but they should never be the sole focus or lead decision-making. Pursuing tactics without a strategy is like throwing spaghetti at a wall and hoping it sticks. It might or might not work, but either way, you’re left with a disconnected mess.

While this might seem obvious in theory, it’s surprisingly easy to forget in practice. Even seasoned communicators can fall into what I call the “tactic trap,” where shiny, novel ideas overshadow strategic thinking.

Let’s be honest: who doesn’t want to jump at the chance to try something new or fire off a quick press release to appease a client? But at the end of the day, is that really what we’re here to do? I’d argue not. Our greatest value lies in the strategic insight we bring to the table. After all, even a baby can throw spaghetti at a wall.

So, how do you avoid the tactic trap? 

The answer lies in one word: Pause.

• Does your client want to showcase a new art collection exclusively on Bluesky? Pause — is that the right platform?
• Does your boss want a 30-second video on the history of brick architecture? Pause — is that the right format?
• Does your aunt want to invite media to her second wedding? Pause — is that something the media wants to attend? Is that something you want to attend? (I guess it depends on who they’re marrying, but probably not.)

Regardless of the ask, taking a pause and referring to your strategy will do wonders in keeping you on track. Ask yourself:

• Does this tactic align with my goals and objectives?
• Does it deliver the right message to my audience at the right time?
• Does this compliment the other tactics in my plan?

If something feels off, then — as Ross Geller famously said — pivot!

Remember your value

You weren’t hired because you know all the tricks in the comms playbook; you were hired because you know which ones to use and when.

When a client, boss, or even an estranged aunt suggests a less-than-ideal tactic, don’t shy away from giving your professional opinion. Explain why a different approach might work better and show how it aligns with your strategy. You might be surprised how often they’ll appreciate the guidance and adapt their plans.

And if you don’t have a strategy?

If you find yourself in the unfortunate position of saying, “But I don’t have a strategy to refer back to,” then it’s time to take another pause — and create one. Good results start with a strong framework. Without it, even the best tactics are no better than spaghetti on a wall.

The post Avoiding the tactic trap appeared first on PR Daily.

Spirit Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday after losing more than $2.2 billion since the start of the pandemic, failing to restructure its debt and unsuccessfully attempting to merge with JetBlue at the beginning of the year. It expects the process to be completed by Q1 2025.

Positioning the move as a reorganization bankruptcy to provide Spirit with legal protections, the company published a press release framed as an “open letter” to travelers and a separate investor relations release.

Each announced an agreement with bondholders that the company claims will help it restructure debts and raise the funds it needs to operate during the process. Each offers solid examples for crafting bankruptcy comms, and change comms in general, delivered in a language and messaging style germane to each audience.

What the open letter got right

Spirit’s letter to travelers and customers, distributed by PR Newswire, is short but sweet.

It begins by stating the intention of the message: “We are writing to let you know about a proactive step Spirit has taken to position the company for success.” It then announces the agreement wit bondholders as a means to reduce total debt, give the company more financial flexibility and “accelerate investments providing Guests with enhanced travel experiences and greater value.” The opening also frames the bankruptcy as “prearranged” to hammer home the idea that this is a strategic plan and not a last resort (it’s both).

This opening effectively couches the financial news in language that general audiences can understand, then ties the changes back to things that matter to guests — how it affects their travel experience. Whether water will become free on future Spirit flights remains to be seen.

The letter then bolds and underlines the point it wants those scanning the message to take away: “The most important thing to know is that you can continue to book and fly now and in the future.”

This is followed by assurances that travelers can still use their tickets, credits and loyalty points as normal, join the airline’s loyalty program and expect the same level of customer service from Spirit.

The letter ends with a few more best practices:

• It shares the estimated date of Q1 2025 when the process will be complete, an accountability play.
• It alludes to other airlines that have navigated bankruptcy and emerged stronger (American Airlines an Delta filed after 9/11, but Spirit is the first airline to do this in a decade.) This makes Spirit seem like less of an outlier, even though their debt and case is extreme,
• It offers a landing page to learn more about the company’s financial restructuring. This is a tried and true tactic for any change message—stick to the key points in the message, and direct interested audiences elsewhere to learn more.

“I applaud them for trying to communicate directly with their customers, reinforcing that they can book and fly now and in the future without disruption,” said Vested Managing Director Ted Birkhahn.

“However, they need to ensure they deliver on this promise because mass flight cancellations or service disruptions during this period put them at risk of breaking any remaining trust between the brand and the consumer.”

While Spirit’s open letter captured many best practices of change comms, it avoids some other questions. Birkhahn also pointed out that the statement doesn’t mention any strict adherence to safety standards during the bankruptcy proceedings—a concern on the minds of any traveler following Boeing’s recent crucible.

“When considering flying with an airline in bankruptcy, my main concerns are whether it might be distracted or understaffed, potentially compromising its ability to meet FAA standards, and whether it can maintain normal operations,” he added.

“I realize all airlines are under strict FAA oversight, but consumer perception is Spirit’s reality, and if consumers are fearful of flying the airline, they will likely book elsewhere.”

Glossing over your past mistakes and pretending they never happened is bad PR, while owning them and positioning a financial restructuring as an opportunity to rectify past operational failings is a chance to turn an opportunity into a cornerstone of future success.

How the IR release frames things differently

While the open letter had the boilerplate cautionary legal language in its forward-looking statement, the investor relations release goes into more specific terms using business and legal language.

Four takeaways are listed up top before the press release begins:

• The first says that “Flights, ticket sales, reservations and all other operations continue as normal,” expanding on the commitments in the open letter to include operations.

• The second notes that the restructuring agreement was signed “by a supermajority of Spirit’s bondholders”, explicitly noting that bondholders have agreed to the plan.

• The third defines the Chapter 11 proceedings as “voluntary” and says they have officially commenced “to implement the agreed deleveraging and recapitalization transactions”.

• The fourth gets into the financing details Spirit will receive from existing bondholders and specifically notes that vendors, aircraft lessors and “holders of secured aircraft indebtedness” will be “paid in the ordinary course and will not be impaired.”’

These points anticipate the most likely investor concerns and address them first — always a best practice when crafting business comms. They are consistent with the ideas in the open letter but go into deeper detail, which makes sense for the audience closely invested in business operations and performance.

This release also included the first indication of how Chapter 11 will affect employee compensation, claiming it will not impact team member wages or benefits “which are continuing to be paid and honored for those employed by Spirit”.

A statement from Spirit President and CEO Ted Christie closes the IR note, contextualizing what this news should mean for the company’s bottom line and ending by thanking his team.

What this means for employees

While Christie thanked the Spirit team and the IR release said that employee compensation and benefits would remain unaffected, the question of layoffs still looms. Spirit furloughed hundreds of pilots over the summer and into the fall after announcing pay raises for four executives in a July 8-K filing.

On the heels of the bankruptcy news, a story about Christie’s $2.5 million Florida home isn’t doing any favors for the company’s employer brand, either.

Spirit is at an inflection point—not just over how it communicates with unions, but with employees directly to educate them about what bankruptcy means for their role and business operations in the months ahead.

We don’t know how Spirit communicated this news with employees, and a request for comment from Spirit was not returned at the time of publication.

Cat Colella-Graham, internal comms lead and coach at Coaching for Communicators, believes that foundational change comms best practices can be applied at Spirit to mitigate internal confusion or backlash.

Those include:

• Holding an all-hands meeting and following up with an email. “It’s important to share the what, why, and why it matters to employees first and fast,” reminds Colella-Graham. “To avoid any misinformation, follow up with an email that recaps the facts, offers a resource if you have questions, and a reminder to direct press inquiries to the appropriate media rep. The law firm assigned to the case may require this for compliance.”
• An intranet FAQ. This should include:
  • The roles that are immediately impacted, if any.
  • What employees can do to prepare for next steps.
  • Any resources, support or professional services the company offers employees to help the process.
  • A commitment to communication, including who they can go to with additional questions.
  • Regular updates ahead of developments hitting the news. Finding out bad news about your organization from external sources before hearing it internally is one of the biggest change comms sins you can make— it corrodes trust and can transform employees from advocates to activists.

Colella-Graham also sees this as an opportunity for Spirit’s leaders to demonstrate humility, empathy and consideration for how difficult it is to process this news so close to the holidays.

“Many employees will be essential in this deal,” she said. “If leaders want to retain those essential team members to work the best bankruptcy deal they can including a sale, merger or other administrative remedy, they need to walk shoulder to shoulder with the team.”

Justin Joffe is the editorial director and editor-in-chief at Ragan Communications. Follow him on LinkedIn.’

The post A closer look at Spirit Airlines’ bankruptcy comms appeared first on PR Daily.

Since Elon Musk purchased the app formerly known as Twitter two years ago and implemented radical changes, various social media upstarts have sought to take its place as the premiere microblogging website.

Niche apps like Mastodon and Spill made names for themselves while Threads grew fast thanks to its integration into the Meta family of apps, including frictionless sign-on using Instagram credentials. Threads quickly amassed more than 275 million monthly active users.

But all of these apps struggled to gain the kind of cultural cache Twitter, now X,enjoyed. Mastodon is complicated and clunky to use; Spill remains small and relatively unknown. Threads had size on its side, but actively discouraged the news and political discussions that made Twitter such a juggernaut.

Before the U.S. elections, Bluesky was another also-ran. On Oct. 24, less than two weeks before the election, it announced it had reached 13 million followers. Respectable, but tiny in the grand sweep of social media.

On Tuesday, less than two weeks after the election, Bluesky hit 20 million, an explosive growth in such a brief period of time. It’s the No. 1 free app on the Apple App Store. Threads comes in at No. 3. X is nowhere to be found in the top 15 listings.

X’s absence from that list belies a small but not insignificant trend of deactivations on the platform after the election, with about 115,000 accounts going dark the day after the election. Given Musk’s tight ties to the Trump administration, with the tech billionaire spending considerable time at Mar-a-Lago and heading up the planned Department of Government Efficiency, some liberal users saw remaining on the platform to be a tacit endorsement of the new administration.

The deactivations are a drop in the bucket compared to X’s 586 million total users. And Bluesky’s 20 million total users is still less than one-tenth of Threads’. But the activity on Bluesky is quickly taking on even the Meta Goliath. Similarweb reports that Bluesky’s daily active use has nearly reached that of Threads, indicating that while Bluesky might be smaller, at least for now, its users are much more engaged. That’s the double-edged sword of Threads’ tactic of getting Instagram users to sign up: it’s very easy to do … and very easy to forget.

Bluesky’s rapid growth has many PR professionals taking notice. Here’s what you should know right now.

Brands on Bluesky

So far, few major consumer brands have set up shop on Bluesky, though you will find a number of parodies knocking about, or people squatting on desirable account names.  To that end, even if you aren’t ready to post on Bluesky now – or ever – this is the time to claim any and all relevant usernames to protect your brand and prevent imitators. Likewise, setting up a few general searches for brand listening purposes is always a good idea, even if you aren’t active on the platform.

The lack of brands on Bluesky contributes to its current, cocktail party-like feel that many have likened to the early days of Twitter, before brands put themselves into the middle of every conversation. People are talking to one another in a way that feels both retro and refreshing.

Amy Brown, a social media strategist and writer made famous by her work on Wendy’s early Twitter account, said that before brands get involved on Bluesky, they should consider what they can add to the conversation beyond just pushing their product.

“The biggest question brands should be asking is: Would we bring some sort of value to the communities currently occupying the platform?” Brown told PR Daily. “Brands I’ve seen find success so far offer some sort of utility, like news publications or the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. But I do not think it’s gonna go well for a sassy brand to jump in with a, ‘rt if you love the breakfast crunchwrap’ or whatever.”

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission is, indeed, on Bluesky, offering up a surrealist, memey take on government communications, replete with bad graphic design (though they challenge users to “please submit a better version of the graphic for review” if they think they can do better). But even amid the absurdity, they’re sharing good information: an image of a roasted turkey on a horse accompanies information about not burning down your house deep frying a bird. News you can use!

The media on Bluesky

Media sources have also migrated to Bluesky. Some, most notably NPR and The Guardian, had abandoned X altogether and Bluesky provides an alternative without Musk’s hostility to the mainstream media. Here, the activity largely mirrors the precedent set on X, with journalists sharing links to content as well as threads with additional information. Images and videos up to 60 seconds long can also be shared.

But perhaps more valuable for PR professionals are not the branded media accounts but the individual journalists who are using the site. X used to allow an incredible opportunity for PR practitioners to forge relationships with journalists, but some began to drift away from the more hostile environment. Many seem re-energized to be on Bluesky, actively posting and accessible once again. Prominent journalists now active on Bluesky include Kara Swisher, Oliver Darcy and Joy-Ann Reid, to name only a few.

PR pros on Bluesky

“I don’t think brands should jump in and establish a presence on Bluesky right away, especially if the intent is to replicate a Twitter or Threads strategy on the platform,” Brown advised. “I do think your social media manager should probably be there in a personal capacity, learning about the platform and evaluating if it’s a fit.” That advice also serves many PR pros well, who need to keep their pulse on the finger of what’s new and what’s next.

If you’re feeling exhausted by the proposition of starting a new social account and building from the ground up, you’re not alone. Here are a few tips to get you started:

• Starter Packs are a solid way to find new people to follow so you don’t find yourself staring into an empty feed. Bluesky allows you to have multiple homefeeds, including people you follow, suggested content or content focused around specific topics. Starter Packs can offer you both custom feeds or recommended people to follow, allowing you to customize your timelines exactly how you please. These are user curated lists that can make adjusting to life in Bluesky much easier. Here’s a Starter Pack of journalists and another of comms professionals.
• There’s no foolproof way to port follows from X to Bluesky. If you want to replicate some of the experience, however, the Sky Follower Bridge can help. It scans your X followers and does its best to identify which users also have Bluesky accounts. From my experience, it’s a bit hit or miss. It works best if people have the same usernames on both platforms, but can get confused if someone has a common name, for instance confusing my follow of a journalist named “Robert King” with a TV producer of the same name. Still, it helped me feel like I at least knew some kids in my new school. You will have to give it your Bluesky password, so take that safety into account.
• It’s OK to lurk. It remains to be seen if Bluesky will become a major social media force or a niche, liberal-leaning silo while X occupies the same space to the right. Regardless, it’s important to understand this movement and what it may mean for the future of social media.

Allison Carter is editor-in-chief of PR Daily. Follow her on Bluesky or LinkedIn.

The post By the Numbers: What you need to know about Bluesky appeared first on PR Daily.

The future of communications will require proactive crisis communications management, personalized messages for individual employees and, above all, a willingness to bridge differences and reach across the political aisle.

These were the overriding themes of Ragan’s Future of Communications Conference, held last week in Austin, Texas. More than 700 communicators came together to share their challenges and triumphs and to prepare for the year ahead.

These were some of the takeaways you should know as we head into 2025. For more insights, join us Nov. 19 for a FREE webinar recapping what you missed.

On proactive crisis management

Taking place the week after Donald Trump won the election, the conference was rich with discussion about how and what proactive crisis management will look like over the next four years.

“You shouldn’t respond to every single (political issue) because it goes to an issue of authenticity,” Elizabeth Monteleone, chief legal officer of Bumble said. “But on those that we’ve committed to, regardless of what the political landscape is going to be, we’re going to continue to show up. That consistency builds trust. It builds authenticity in your employee base and your consumer base.”

Monteleone added that Bumble’s aim has been to focus on “policies, not politics.”

With unionization efforts on the rise, Beth R. Archer, director of corporate communications at Constellation, explained how the company’s strong relationship with unions across the country is supported year-round. Each policy change, development, and employee award is shared with unions well in advance.

“We create contingency plans that address every scenario, and our tone we always take with that is positive and forward-looking,” Archer explained. “We’re going to be working with these folks and want to be sure that we don’t erode that trust.”

On personalizing messages for employees

We continue to see internal communicators put their marketing hats on to segment their employee populations and deliver personalized messaging strategies that make “meet them where they are” more than a platitude of jargon.

“As the comms landscape changes the future comes in, customizing communications seamlessly for the deskless population is going to look different,”  said Andres “Dre” Muñiz, associate director of global manufacturing & quality communications, at Eli Lilly and Company. “The core constant is just treating them like people.”

Taking a people-first approach should also be reflected in the leaders you select to speak to your employee population. Effectively personalizing employee messages also means building variety into your company meetings that platforms those doing the work who don’t often get the spotlight, and centers each update around the most timely and actionable developments.

“The idea of a quarterly meeting that follows the same exact format with the same speakers should be sunsetted,” said Christina Furtado, director of AI communications at Dell Technologies. “You have to be flexible in how your executive addresses their team and who they pull in to help them do the storytelling.”

If segmenting your employee population feels daunting, consider how AI can help.

“We started taking our (engagement) data and running it through AI to ask it for trends,” explained Brandi Chionsini, senior manager of internal communications, at LegalZoom.  “Anytime you do a survey, it needs to be immediate and expedient. AI is helping us analyze large groups of data quickly and efficiently so we’re able to turn that around (to let employees know we’re listening) a lot faster.”

On bridging differences to reach across the aisle.

Whether your workforce is red, blue or purple, Archer urged audiences to approach politically-charged conversations “with respectful curiosity,” a phrase she learned from one of Constellation’s attorneys.

“Less words like diversity, and more words like belonging,”  said Joanna Piacenza, vice president of thought leadership, Gravity Research. Piacenza’s point underscores the power that the words we use can reframe the work we’re doing to be less incendiary or politically-charged–while still making room for the work to continue.

Alise Marshall, senior director of corporate affairs and impact at  Pinterest, told the audience in her session that times of polarization are an opportunity to reignite and reactivate shared values.

“Regardless of that polarization that we see across the electorate, folks still want the same basic things out of this life,” she said. “They want to be able to go to work in a dignified manner and role. They want to be able to give back to their communities and to those loved ones.”

Justin Joffe is the editorial director and editor-in-chief at Ragan Communications. Follow him on LinkedIn.

The post Top takeaways from Ragan’s Future of Communications Conference 2024 appeared first on PR Daily.

Believe it or not, it’s been just over a week since the United States headed to the polls to select a new slate of leaders.  Perhaps more so than in years past, the election of past-and-future President Donald Trump has elicited strong feelings, from elation to despair.

Caught in the middle are companies who have been trying to decide what — if anything — to say publicly about the election and its results.

Behind the scenes, titans of industry are courting Trump, just as they do with every incoming president. Some, especially in the tech space, have issued public statements congratulating Trump on his win. In another election year, these would be considered standard, dull statements, a necessary part of the political game for those who do business with the federal government. But this year, even the most anodyne have drawn attention.

Take the statement made by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy on LinkedIn: “Congratulations to President-elect Trump on a hard-fought victory. We look forward to working with you and your administration on issues important to our customers, employees, communities, and country.”

“As a diverse female Amazon employee, this is demoralizing,” one comment read. “This post was not necessary and (a) way to create division within our company.”

“As a woman working for Amazon, I feel proud my CEO is willing to cooperate with our country regardless of the administration!” came a counterpoint.

A survey from Morning Consult conducted the morning after the election revealed complex emotions from employees about what their companies should do in the wake of this new administration. Similarly, the public is also far from united in their beliefs about how businesses should speak out (or remain silent) just now.

Here’s what the survey found.

A lack of consensus

Of the six questions Morning Consult asked employees about how their employers should respond politicly, no single item achieved a majority response, either for or against. The closest there was to agreement was 49% of employees who said that despite Trump’s clear stance against DEI initiatives, companies should nonetheless boost their diversity efforts. The least popular idea was that employers should “welcome political talk in the workplace,” which drew disagreement from 39% of respondents. Only 25% thought that encouraging political discussions was a good idea just now. When phrased differently, asking whether companies should discourage workplace discussion of politics, 41% agreed that was the best course of action.

Perhaps the most interesting item, however, was whether or not the company should support the new president’s policies if they benefit the company. This question was divided into two parts: one asking if the company should support the new administration’s economic policies, and the other asking if they should support its social policies.

Forty-one percent of respondents said it would be good to support economic policies, while 28% said it was fine either way. But there was less support for speaking out in praise of the president’s social policies, even if they benefit the company: 36% said companies should support the policies, while 30% were fine either way.

This lack of a consensus will make it difficult for organizations to navigate the waters. But let’s check in and see what consumers had to say.

Consumers want companies to stick to the basics

Overall, the general public was a bit more clear about what they expected of companies in this circumstance — and what they didn’t want.

Let’s start with the latter. The most unpopular thing a company could do right now is to comment negatively on the election results. Only 26% of respondents said that was a good idea, compared to 49% who said it was a bad idea (and 32% who would strongly disapprove of such a statement. By comparison, a full 50% supported companies commenting positively on the election results.

But in general, what the general public seemed to want most were fairly typical, bland statements about democracy — or nothing at all.

Seventy percent wanted to hear statements encouraging a safe, orderly transition of power. Sixty-four percent wanted companies to take a stand against political violence. And a full 63% just wanted companies to stay quiet altogether. That nudged just ahead of the 60% who wanted a simple, neutral statement on the election results.

The bottom line

The most difficult aspect of the weeks and months ahead may not be managing public perception — it may be handling internal expectations from employees. And remember that any internal statements should be expected to be made public, either through an intentional strategy or via leaks, so balancing these needs is critical.

Employees seem poised to push their employers harder for stances, while the general public is signaling they’re fine with a return to the kinds of political neutrality companies have exhibited in decades past.

Which impulse will win?

Allison Carter is editor-in-chief of PR Daily. Follow her on Twitter or LinkedIn.

The post By the Numbers: Post-election, this is what the public wants from companies appeared first on PR Daily.

Brainstorming is one of the most popular uses of AI for communicators. And generative AI can certainly be helpful in getting the white off the page and stretching your thinking new directions. But doing the first brainstorm yourself and then asking AI to step in can also be helpful.

Here’s how this “post brainstorming” works.

1. Spend 10 minutes coming up with ideas for what you’re working on. These could be angles for a pitch, survey questions or new campaign concepts.
2. Prompt your AI tool: “I’ve come up with some ideas for (whatever you’re working on). Using these as a guide, what would you add? Please give me 10 more ideas.”
3. See what you get. Some of the ideas might be duplicates, some might not be what you’re looking for, but a few might just help you see past your own blind spots.

Give it a try next time you need to brainstorm: you might find that giving the AI tool ideas to start with yields higher quality results.

The post One Big AI Tip: Try ‘post brainstorming’ appeared first on PR Daily.

President-elect Donald Trump has promised to usher in a period of radical change for the United States. Bolstered by Republican control of the Senate, likely Republican control of the House and a conservative-leaning Supreme Court, he is positioned to alter aspects of both American government and culture.

The precise form of these changes remains to be seen, but it’s certain that at least some of these reforms would impact the work of communicators.

PR Daily caught up with Luke Hartig, CEO of Gravity Research, a firm which specializes in societal and reputational risk intelligence for major firms.

Here’s what Hartig sees on the horizon – and how communicators can prepare now.

1. DEI shifts, but does not disappear.

“I think DEI is one of the biggest risks that companies are going to face about this election,” Hartig said. Even under a Democratic presidential administration, DEI has seen a number of blows, most notably the affirmative action Supreme Court case, the success of activists like Robby Starbuck pushing companies with more conservative customer bases to cut some programs, and backlash from state governments.

With the power of the executive branch, Trump could institute Department of Labor rules that impact DEI programs. The SEC could halt various DEI programs in shareholder proposals. The administration could support anti-DEI lawsuits – or withdraw its support from ongoing pro-DEI defenses.

But even outside what the president can do directly, the change in political control could embolden anti-DEI activists, like Starbuck, Hartig said.

“Are the anti-DEI legal activist groups just better funded and better able to take (on companies) after this? Is the public perception of DEI changed such that for any activist or media source who’s anti-DEI, they feel like they’re working in fertile ground?” Hartig asked rhetorically.

But on the other hand, he does not see DEI disappearing altogether, in large part because of demands from employees.

“It’s a delicate dance that companies will do to try to de-risk themselves from the things that are most likely to result in consumer backlash or lawsuits or regulatory action, while still maintaining some core commitment to having a diverse workplace,” Hartig said.

Companies will also have to balance competing needs and wants from the workers themselves, however. Hartig noted that the political divide between employees with a college education and those without grew exponentially during this election. According to exit polls, 56% of voters without a college degree broke for Trump, compared to just 42% of college educated voters.

“I think the takeaway for companies is to really know your employees, not just the ones that you see most frequently in the C-suite or interactions with top executives, but really know what your employees are like, writ large,” Hartig said. “What do they care about? How do they think about these issues? How might they have voted?”

2. LGBTQ+ issues move to the fore.

LGBTQ+ issues, particularly issues around transgender rights, were a massive part of the Republican closing arguments in this election. This is a continuation of several years of backlash against the expansion of trans rights, particularly against companies who have supported trans influencers or offered trans friendly products in stores.

Hartig notes that Trump has a number of levers he can pull to impact trans rights, especially in schools, such as Title IX. It’s possible these moves could trigger employee backlash and calls for additional activism from employers, but Hartig is already seeing a hesitance for employers to take the strong stances on social issues they once did during the pandemic era. Namely, they’re less likely to sign onto open letters or activist group pledges, Hartig said.

“The transgender rights issue is something I think that that is going to continue to be fraught. It’s certainly an issue that President-elect Trump played to his electoral advantage, but it’s also an issue that I think a lot of companies are wary about wading into too much just because of the really split opinions on it,” Hartig said.

3. Tension between employers and workers.

But as we’ve noted, Hartig expects that many workers will continue to press their employers to show up on these issues in the ways they have in the past. “We know that employees still want to work for employers where their values align with their own, where they can bring their whole selves to work, where the company has some things that they believe beyond just the actual profit and loss of that company,” Hartig said.

At the same time, employers are finding themselves needing to identify their core values rather than trying to speak out on every issue.

“If you are a bank that cares about racial equity, you are maybe not out there speaking out vocally about every racial equity issue,” Hartig said. “But you might say, ‘hey, what can we do to improve our support to Black entrepreneurs?’ Things that are very clearly aligned with what a bank does, and it feels like it fits the purpose of their company, makes their employees feel like they work for an employer whose values align with their own, but maybe doesn’t pull them into some of the hot-button political issues.”

4. ESG evolves.

Environmental regulatory rollbacks are also all but certain to be part of the second Trump administration. From EPA changes to withdrawal from global climate treaties, the role of ESG in corporate life could fundamentally shift. But Hartig predicts that the Trump administration may be slightly softer on environmental issues than they were during his first term. He noted that many of the same energy companies who supported Trump’s election are not purely oil and gas companies, but increasingly have holdings in renewable energy as well.

But for other companies, especially B2C, they’re still likely to find themselves torn between the government, the people and their own promises.

“They’re gonna be stuck between this rock and a hard place of a Trump administration that’s maybe antagonistic and skeptical of a lot of the climate-focused policies that companies have placed and on the other hand, a real push from other (countries) that they operate in, from their consumers to maintain those commitments to environmentalism,” Hartig said.

5. Mass deportations could put pressure on companies to speak.

One of Trump’s most incendiary promises has been mass deportations of undocumented immigrants. This certainly will have massive impacts on the labor pool in many industries, including agriculture and construction, but an operation at the predicted scale – perhaps a million people deported – would also play out in dramatic ways that could ripple to every industry.

Hartig said that the operation would require the mobilization of not only law enforcement, but the National Guard and potentially other military as well. These arrests would happen, in many cases, in large urban areas, with cameras rolling both from civilians and from journalists. These dramatic images could put pressure on companies – potentially via employees – to speak.

“This idea of companies being the more trusted institutions in American society, and that call for them to be kind of the voice of civility, would be strong,” Hartig said.

6. The #resistance returns.

During Trump’s first administration, those who disagreed with his politics became loud, putting pressure on companies to either stand up to Trump’s policies – or to avoid praising him or working with him in any way. They often organized around #resistance on social media. That could return in this second term, Hartig said. He specifically referenced a boycott around Goya products after its CEO praised Trump – but data shows that despite the social chatter, sales actually rose.

“That general reigniting of culture wars and activism pressures on companies in what ways and on which issues, I think it still remains to be seen,” Hartig said.

Allison Carter is editor-in-chief of PR Daily. Follow her on Twitter or LinkedIn.

The post 6 hot-button topics communicators should prepare for in the Trump administration appeared first on PR Daily.

With a week and a half  until Election Day, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are doing everything in their power to engage and sway notoriously hard-to-reach segments of the American electorate.

One rare area of agreement between the candidates has been on the power of podcasts.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump is set to record an episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience,” the top-rated podcast in the United States. 

The Journal noted that Trump has made around 17 podcast appearances so far this year, while Harris has appeared on 10 podcasts this year, appearing as both vice president and the Democratic nominee for president. She was to tape an interview with podcaster and social scientist Brené Brown on Friday. Brown’s show is popular among older women.

Why it matters: People may not be reading newspapers or tuning into the evening news as much as they used to, but this doesn’t mean they’re not interested in world events and important information. 

As a result, PR professionals need to make podcasts a part of their earned media strategy, since they’ve become a regular part of many Americans’ daily lives, regardless of their background.

A report by Edison Research in May showed that podcasts reach people of all ages. About 59% of 12- to 34-year-olds listen to podcasts every month, and 55% of 35- to 54-year-olds do the same. 

Podcast listeners are also diverse, with 48% of Black Americans and 43% of Hispanic Americans listening every month. The number of U.S. women listening to podcasts has reached a new high, with 45% listening monthly and 32% weekly.

In the case of this presidential race, both the Trump and Harris camps are looking for ways to engage with key demographics.

The “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, which reaches around 15 million viewers every week, is attractive to both Harris and Trump, given its listenership of 71% male and evenly split between high school and post-secondary graduates. 

For comparison, a CNN town hall featuring Harris on Wednesday drew 3.2 million viewers, with over 700,000 of them falling within the 25- to 54-year-old demographic, according to The Hill. The article noted that this figure was less than half of the 7 million viewers who watched her one-on-one interview with Fox News the previous week.

Harris had agreed to appear on Rogen’s show, despite her initial hesitation to participate in longer-form, unscripted interviews, per the Journal. However, organizing a taping has proven challenging. But it all underscores just how important podcasts have become. 

Many of these listeners may be hearing from the candidates in a meaningful way for the first time. These shows offer a great chance for candidates to make a strong impression and connect with listeners on a deeper level than they could through a tweet or TV ad. While a podcast may not be enough to win someone’s vote, it can be an important first step toward doing so.

Editor’s Top Reads:

• President Joe Biden has signed a national strategy to harness artificial intelligence for enhancing national security and safeguarding the country against its potential risks. On Thursday, National Security Advisor Jack Sullivan identified some key considerations behind the strategy, including the swift advancement of AI, the uncertainty surrounding its development and the private sector’s role in future innovations. Sullivan emphasized that the administration’s primary objectives with the policy are to help the U.S. maintain its status as a leader in AI, leverage the tech to improve security and build strong international partnerships while countering China’s influence in the field. The signing of this strategy highlights the need for everyone, including PR professionals, to continue to think of new ways to use this technology. AI has proven useful for drafting press releases and generating social media content, but it’s essential to look beyond these uses. We must anticipate what’s on the horizon to avoid being caught off guard when it arrives. As Sullivan noted, “We need to prepare for all the possible ways AI could develop by 2025, 2027, 2030 and beyond.”
• Most major indicators suggest the United States economy has greatly improved over the past two years, but many Americans still struggle to cope with the fact that they’re paying much more for everything, from housing to a deli sandwich, than they did before the COVID-19 pandemic. A report this week from the Federal Reserve noted signs of Americans shifting toward “less expensive alternatives.” Although inflation has slowed down significantly, dropping to 2.4% in September, according to the U.S. Labor Department, many people still feel the pinch. A survey in late August by the Wall Street Journal found that 38% of voters believed the cost of living was still rising and causing major financial strains for their families – the highest level since the question was first asked in November 2021, when inflation was much higher. Another 26% said inflation was causing minor strains. These numbers offer a reminder that just because a person should be able to afford something on paper, it doesn’t mean they feel they can. PR pros should consider this information in their message, showing empathy to consumers while highlighting value. 
• Friday marks the start of the dream PR situation for Major League Baseball as two of its biggest brands, the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers, square off in the World Series. In recent decades, the league has lost its footing as America’s Pastime, losing audience share to the more action-packed NFL and NBA. The MLB has successfully spent the past couple seasons introducing a range of pace-of-play changes to attract modern spectators. But the World Series, taking place in the country’s two biggest markets, is a unique opportunity to attract new fans. The last time the two teams played in the Fall Classic, in 1978, a record 44 million TV viewers tuned in on average every game. “You love them, you hate them, you’ll watch. At least that’s the idea,” wrote Wall Street Journal reporter Jason Gay. Brands invest time and energy crafting data-driven messaging, earning top-tier media placements and understanding consumer behaviors. But sometimes, organic situations such as this blockbuster World Series present themselves and communicators have to be ready to be ready to capitalize on. For the MLB, it’s wasting little time highlighting the star-studded fanbases of both teams to make the World Series more of a Super Bowl-esque entertainment spectacle. Dodgers superfan and country music star Brad Paisley, for instance, is all over the league’s social media platforms. He’ll also perform the National Anthem before Game 1. Not every company has a primetime national TV broadcast to help promote its products, of course, but they all have the equivalent of a Yankees-Dodgers World Series – be ready.

Casey Weldon is a reporter for PR Daily. Follow him on LinkedIn.

The post The Scoop: Podcasts influence election season like never before appeared first on PR Daily.

The rise of generative AI technology has proven to be a reckoning point for communicators over the past few years. Whether you fear that it could come for comms jobs in the future, or that it’ll free up communicator workflows for increased creativity and productivity, nearly everyone has an opinion on what AI means for the future of communication.

Microsoft Chief Communications Officer Frank Shaw kicked off Ragan’s Internal Communications Conference at Microsoft HQ in Redmond, Washington by demystifying the company’s AI innovations with Microsoft Copilot and explaining what tools comms pros can implement now for smoother sailing along their communications journeys.

Applying AI to key parts of the workflow

Shaw emphasized that workflows are central to every internal communications role. The opportunity lies in identifying the parts of those workflows where AI helps fill in the gaps.

Shaw outlined a simplified internal comms journey that always begins with a directive or news item that needs sharing. He said that AI can help work on the granular bits of those processes, allowing communicators to focus on the bigger picture.

These areas include:

• Creating a comms strategy and campaign plan.
• Revising the plan following feedback.
• Writing and designing content and communications.
• Revising based on review.
• Refining the comms based on audience feedback.
• Analyzing and compiling a metrics report

Frank Shaw’s workflow chart, as shared at Ragan’s 2024 Internal Communications Conference. [Image courtesy of Microsoft.]

“You’ve got to break processes down to their atomic steps,” Shaw told the crowd. “There are some things that will remain uniquely human, but other areas in which you can get an assist from AI. It can help us as communicators focus on the most important things.”

Shaw explained how AI can help pick up the day-to-day rote work that can bog down a communicator’s busy schedule, enabling them to focus on the projects that have tangible impacts on their employee audience. For one, AI can pick up many messaging responsibilities that currently fall on comms pros, including reviews and refinements.

“It’s a dream space that we’re driving toward,” he said. “We’re seeing a 20 to 30% improvement in total time to task that allows people more ability to do what they want to do.”

AI as a companion through the entire comms journey

True to its name, Shaw described Copilot as an assistant that’s able to navigate the waters of internal communications. He told the audience that just like any other part of a working person’s routine, to be effective, AI usage needs to become habitual.

“We’re all here because we’re good at our jobs — but if there was a way we could build net new tools and change our workflows through AI?” Shaw said. “For that to work, we need to make AI a habit and reconfigure how it fits in.”

Beyond the more well-known tasks it can handle like content creation and editing, Shaw suggested that communicators should implement AI as a source of feedback as well, sharing how Copilot can provide alternative ways to present a message or provide an alternative point of view for ideation. You could ask for feedback on a given thesis for a piece, or ask if there are alternative ways to engage an internal audience, another set of steps on his shared comms journey.

“Think about AI as a persona, as a sparring partner, as a brainstorming buddy,” Shaw said.

When used the right way, AI can also serve as a complementary tool that helps employees feel better about their job performance. Shaw said it’s helped teams streamline their sense of productivity and sense of satisfaction at work.

“People who like their jobs tend to perform well in their jobs and stay,” he said. “With this program, we really like what we’re seeing so far.”

Along for the entirety of the comms trip

The last steps of the internal communicators’ journey involve sharing the content at hand, monitoring it for feedback and analytics, and reporting the results back to your relevant stakeholders

Even with the help of an AI assistant or agent, a communicator’s influence is central to considering the needs of people and culture — particularly a culture of opportunity and trying new things.

“When you have that culture of opportunity and excitement, people will experiment,” Shaw said. “They will try new things, share how they failed and what they learned along the way. That’s the culture we want to build with all the new tools that come our way.”

With its reusable steps, Shaw’s map of automation’s influence along the comms journey applies to nearly any situation. Reminding communicators of the rapid decisions and judgments they will make in the upcoming election, Shaw ended with a hopeful note that leaning into the workflow while thinking about these specific AI inflection points can help comms pros breathe a little easier.

“When you’re in the hot seat, it’s good to have a set of tools that can help you a little bit,” he said.

Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications. In his spare time he enjoys Philly sports and hosting trivia.

The post Microsoft CCO on how AI can enhance internal comms appeared first on PR Daily.

In the last month, more high-profile media personalities have announced they’re taking their talents to Substack.

From creator economy journalist Taylor Lorenz to bestselling media mogul James Patterson to magazine legend Tina Brown, these disparate professionals have all cited creative freedom as a reason for striking out on the email platform.

“I write about the attention economy, and I write about the content creator industry, and I just want complete autonomy to write and do and say whatever I want, and engage a little bit more directly with my readers, with the public, when it comes to my work,” Lorenz, a former Washington Post columnist, told The Hollywood Reporter. Other factors leading to the rush to Substack include continuing layoffs and the rise of young, Gen-Z journalists ready to make a splash on their own terms.

Substack now boasts a cumulative 35 million readers of its diverse slate of newsletters, 3 million of whom pay for content (Substack takes a 10% cut of any subscription fees creators receive). And those millions of readers are engaged and activated around thousands of newsletters on topics ranging from politics to beauty, from religion to movies.

“The engagement is higher because people have opted in, they’re welcoming it in their inbox and they’re getting it pushed to them,” said Meredith Klein, former Pinterest and Walmart communications executive who has successfully pitched Substackers.

Here’s what you need to know about this platform, successful pitches and the road ahead.

Convincing clients of Substack’s importance

One of the biggest issues Klein has found when it comes to pitching Substacks is convincing her clients that this is worth their time. After all, even big Substacks don’t have the cache of The New York Times or TechCrunch. But it does include many journalists who used to work at those outlets.

That resistance can be overcome by simply pointing to the many prominent people who have been interviewed by Substack journalists. Patterson, for instance, already has Bill Clinton lined up as an interviewee on his new Substack. So, if it’s good enough for the likes of a former president, it’s probably good enough for your principal.

Sharing metrics can also help overcome wariness — though nailing those down can be tricky. It used to be easy to share viewership data or newspaper circulation, but getting that information is harder in a digital world. Substacks are no exception.

Some newsletters do share media kits, Klein said, that include their circulation figures, open and clickthrough rates and more. But even absent those concrete numbers, there are a few ways you can reverse engineer data points. Looking at social shares and the engagement there, for instance, can help give you an idea of how the content spreads beyond its core platform. She also finds that frequently, Substack will create its own ecosystem, with creators sharing content from one to the next.

“I think that Substacks are somewhat akin to a syndicate,” she said, likening it to Yahoo and even the old days of Scripps-Howard.

The risks of a Substack

While Substacks have many benefits, they also have some drawbacks from a PR perspective. The same freedom that writers crave from the platform can mean a lack of checks and balances, without the traditional editorial heft to rein them back in. It also means that each Substack can be very personality-driven, relying on the personal brand of each journalist to get readers. That might mean a looser tone than you could expect from traditional media.

“You might get some of those one-line zingers … because they’re able to do that where (before) that might have get gotten edited out,” Klein said.

Because of that, Substacks might be a better fit for pitching more B2C or less regulated industries. It might be worth a pause before going all-in with your pharmaceutical or financial services client, Klein said. But it all comes back to researching and knowing the outlet you’re pitching.

“You might test and learn with a smaller announcement, not a C-suite executive, just to start,” Klein said.”

Good media relations is good media relations

Substack is essentially a platform, like TikTok or Instagram, that is home to thousands of individual newsrooms. There is no “pitching Substack,” but rather pitching the many publications that call the platform home.

And the same principles that apply to pitching Substack authors also apply to pitching most other media sources.

Just like traditional journalism, Klein said, Substackers cover different topics in different ways. Some might lean toward reported features, while others might do more Skimm-esque roundups that link out without doing an interview. Some might be open to being pitched while others are not.

“Do your research,” Klein urged. “Identify the Substacks, understand their format, flow, cadence. Are they analysis versus feature versus commentary versus roundup? Then reach out.”

Then, it’s a matter of nurturing that relationship into the future.

Allison Carter is editor-in-chief of PR Daily. Follow her on Twitter or LinkedIn.

The post What you need to know about the rise of Substack appeared first on PR Daily.

Lauren Love has dedicated over 15 years to shaping narratives in the nonprofit and higher education arenas. As the Communications Director for the Office of the Vice President for Government Relations at the University of Michigan, Love works to illustrate the vital role of higher education, research, and innovation to a diverse audience, including government officials, alumni, and internal stakeholders.

Before stepping into this role, the communications director served as a senior media relations and public affairs representative at U-M, managing high-stakes institutional news and crisis communication. Her background also includes roles at the University of Notre Dame Law School, the Chicago Urban League, and the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, where she served as press secretary for Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.

A strong advocate for authentic communication, Love believes that narratives grounded in honesty resonate more deeply with audiences, who are quick to identify disingenuous messaging. “The key to excellence in storytelling is authenticity,” she told Ragan.

My first comms job was:

My first role in communications was with a boutique PR firm founded by a former African American journalist from Chicago. Working at a smaller firm gave me the unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience with a diverse range of clients early in my career.

I was able to dive into all aspects of the business, from media relations to event planning, and even crisis communications. Being part of a smaller team meant that I had the chance to work directly with some truly dynamic clients, which was both challenging and rewarding. This experience laid a strong foundation for my career, teaching me the importance of adaptability, resourcefulness, and the value of building authentic relationships.

The thing I’m most excited about for the future of my profession is:

The potential to blend technology with storytelling in ways we haven’t seen before. With advancements in AI, data analytics, and digital platforms, we have more tools at our disposal to reach audiences in meaningful, personalized ways.

But what really excites me is how these tools can enhance—not replace—the human element in PR. For example, AI can handle data analysis and trend forecasting, allowing us to make more informed decisions and connect with people on a deeper level. We’re also able to measure our impact more accurately, which helps us align more closely with business objectives and demonstrate our value to leadership.

At the same time, I think there’s a growing emphasis on authenticity and transparency, especially as consumers become more discerning. As PR professionals, we’re in a unique position to bridge that gap between organizations and their audiences by crafting narratives that resonate on a human level. I believe the future of PR will be about combining high-tech tools with timeless storytelling skills to create trust and build lasting relationships. It’s an exciting time to be in this field!

One thing that worries me about the future of my profession is:

The increasing polarization and the way influencer culture has shifted perceptions of expertise. We’re living in a time when anyone can claim to be an expert, often without the experience or knowledge to back it up. This creates a challenge for communications professionals who are committed to accuracy and integrity, especially in a landscape where misinformation can spread rapidly and deeply influence public opinion.

The polarization we’re seeing also means that audiences are more likely to seek out information that reinforces their existing beliefs, rather than engaging with a diverse range of perspectives. This makes our work harder, as we strive to create messages that can break through echo chambers and resonate across different viewpoints.

We have a responsibility to elevate informed voices and promote fact-based narratives. I think our role will become increasingly important in helping people distinguish credible information from noise. It’s both a challenge and an opportunity to reinforce the value of true expertise and foster a more informed, engaged public. Despite these concerns, I’m hopeful that we can adapt and continue to make a positive impact by standing firm in our commitment to ethical communication and promoting authentic, meaningful dialogue.

A book or song that changed the way I think about my career is:

Three books that have profoundly shaped the way I think about my career are Fabulosity: What It Is & How to Get It by Kimora Lee Simmons, More than Enough by Elaine Welteroth, and Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person by Shonda Rhimes.

Each of these books has offered me unique insights and inspiration. Fabulosity taught me about embracing my own confidence and celebrating my individuality—it’s a reminder that success comes from being true to yourself and standing proudly in your own power. More than Enough resonated with me deeply, as Elaine Welteroth’s story of breaking barriers and pushing for representation in media reinforced the importance of owning your worth and believing that you are more than enough in any room you walk into.

Finally, Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes inspired me to step out of my comfort zone. Rhimes’ commitment to saying yes to new opportunities reminded me of the power of embracing challenges and pushing past fear. Together, these books have encouraged me to be bold, authentic, and unapologetically ambitious in my career.

I’ll add that Beyonce continues to provide the soundtrack of my life. Her Renaissance album continues to get regular rotation while I get dressed for work or make my short commute.

Someone who has helped me be successful in my career is:

Two people who have been instrumental in my success are two of my former managers:  Rick Fitzgerald and Roderick Hawkins. Rick, who retired as vice president for public affairs at the University of Michigan, was an extraordinary leader. He had a unique talent for engaging every team member on a project and made sure that everyone felt their contributions—big or small—were integral to the project’s success. He led with unwavering integrity and empathy, and he taught me that you don’t need to be unkind to be an effective leader. Rick truly believed that senior leaders don’t have to be intimidating to inspire respect and dedication.

Roderick Hawkins, who is now the associate dean of external affairs and chief of staff at Northwestern University’s school of communication, has also been a tremendous influence. Roderick brings vibrant energy and a genuine passion for building relationships across sectors. He continues to demonstrate how powerful it is to connect with people from all walks of life, and his ability to foster partnerships and collaborations has been a great source of inspiration for me. Both Rick and Roderick have shaped my career by modeling the kind of leadership that combines strength with compassion, and I am grateful for their guidance and support.

One piece of advice I would give other people in my profession is:

One piece of advice I would give to others in my profession is to never underestimate the power of relationships. In PR and communications, our work is all about connecting with people—whether it’s building trust with stakeholders, cultivating media contacts, or engaging with your audience. Take the time to genuinely understand and listen to others, and prioritize relationship-building as much as you would any other strategic goal.

By investing in meaningful relationships, you not only create a strong network but also position yourself as a trusted resource. These connections often open doors to new opportunities, amplify your messages, and help you navigate challenges more effectively. Remember, at the heart of every great PR campaign is a foundation of trust, respect, and genuine connection.

The key to excellence in storytelling is:

The key to excellence in storytelling is authenticity. True storytelling resonates when it’s grounded in honesty and reflects the genuine values, mission, and voice of the organization. Audiences today are incredibly savvy, and they can sense when a story is disingenuous or overly polished.

Excellence in storytelling requires a deep understanding of both the audience and the organization. It’s about knowing what makes people care and connecting on an emotional level. This means digging deeper to find those real, human moments that capture attention and inspire trust. A good story doesn’t just promote a product or idea—it creates a connection, fosters empathy, and ultimately builds lasting relationships.

In my experience, authenticity in storytelling not only enhances credibility but also helps communicate the essence of a brand or organization in a way that resonates. By staying true to the core message and delivering it with empathy and integrity, we can tell stories that not only inform but also leave a lasting impact.

Isis Simpson-Mersha is a conference producer/ reporter for Ragan. Follow her on LinkedIn.

The post How I Got Here: University of Michigan’s Communications Director Lauren Love on authentic storytelling appeared first on PR Daily.

The list of major media figures striking out on their own via newsletter platform Substack continues to grow.

Just weeks after media star Taylor Lorenz left the Washington Post to start her own newsletter, prolific author James Patterson and legendary magazine editor Tina Brown have also joined Substack.

“Like most writers — even in my situation — you’re always at the beck and call of editors,” Patterson told The Hollywood Reporter. “With Substack, we’re totally free, we get to do whatever the hell we want to do. So I can write opinion pieces. I can write whatever the hell I want to write, and that’s liberating.”

And whatever the hell Patterson wants turns out to be a list of heavy-hitter interview subjects, including Bill Clinton, novelist David Baldacci and maybe even Dolly Parton.

“They’re kind of fresh and fun, and you’re gonna find out stuff that you’re not used to, and they’re filmed so you can either watch it or or read it,” he explained.

Brown, meanwhile, is taking a more casual, diary-like approach. “This is just an extra something I’ll be doing on a Monday afternoon,” she told The New York Times.

Why it matters: Writers  on Substack  offer a new, exciting avenue for PR professionals. The platform boasts 35 million total users, including 3 million paying customers who subscribe directly to individual newsletters (Substack, of course, gets a cut). Its email-based delivery model also offers a more surefire delivery method than many traditional media outlets, which continue to rely on algorithmically fickle social media sites and search engine rankings for their traffic for digital spread.

But while there are possibilities, there are also risks. Patterson exulted in his ability to evade editors with Substack, which certainly can encourage creativity and allow for new ideas. But without an editor helping to fact check, serve as a hedge against defamatory content or just to say “maybe this isn’t a great idea,” it can pose new reputational risks for organizations – and in a way that could be tricky to monitor, since they are not easily indexable.

By all means, incorporate Substack authors into your pitching routine. But  be aware of the new risks posed by this Wild West of journalism-adjacent content.

Editor’s Top Reads

• In other media strategy news, Kamala Harris is making a foray into what is likely to be unfriendly territory: Fox News. The conservative news outlet will air an interview with the Democratic presidential nominee and Chief Political Anchor Brett Baier tonight at 6 p.m., featuring roughly a half hour of questions, The New York Times reported. Harris is following in the footsteps of her running mate, Tim Walz, who has appeared on the network the last two weekends. This media appearance can serve two key purposes. First, it’s a chance to get in front of skeptical conservative voters and perhaps pick off a few votes. It also will serve as an answer to criticism that she’s afraid to face tough questions – it’s unlikely that she’ll receive the kind of kid-glove treatment her opponent often receives on the network. Harris’ media strategy has received a great deal of scrutiny: Is she doing enough? Is she going on shows and podcasts that are too niche? Ultimately, we won’t know until after the election – but for right now, it’s certainly interesting to watch.
• Bath & Body Works faced a nightmarish crisis over the weekend when social media users pointed out that the brand’s new “Snowed In” candle featured a paper snowflake that bore an unfortunate resemblance to a Ku Klux Klan hood. Given the catchy moniker “klandle,” images and criticism spread like wildfire on social media. To its credit, Bath & Body Works responded quickly by both pulling the candle from shelves and issuing a statement to the media: “At Bath & Body Works, we are committed to listening to our teams and customers, and committed to fixing any mistakes we make-even those that are unintentional like this one. We apologize to anyone we’ve offended and are swiftly working to have this item removed and are evaluating our process going forward.” Some hammered Bath & Body Works for what they saw as a lack of diversity that allowed the candle to make it to shelves in the first place. But NBC News reported that one Instagram user summed up the situation almost perfectly: “This was an honest mistake it looks like a snowflake. But they still took accountability.” And sometimes, that’s all you can do.
• As new sports teams, especially women’s leagues, pop up across the country, many are facing a problem: they need names, and many of the good ones are taken. The branding team for the yet-unnamed Toronto WNBA expansion shared some of the trials of selecting a new name, the Wall Street Journal reported: Wildfire (“although tough and fast, they have had devastating effects on Canada,” an Instagram post reads), Vipers (“snakes are a sign of deceit in some cultures”) and Asteroids (“the nickname just won’t fly when shortened”). The naming process for the team is being carried out publicly, including a podcast, to explain the thought process behind the name – a great way to get fans involved before a team even exists. Meanwhile in Boston, their women’s soccer club is taking a different approach, shunning the animal or disaster names that often give a team its identity, instead choosing the play on words of BOS Nation FC. “BOS Nation, an anagram of ‘Bostonian,” is meant to evoke ‘boss energy,’ suggest a fan-centric identity and nod to the city’s three-letter airport code,” the Journal said. These commitments to branding in public and bringing in fan perspectives is a fantastic way to marry marketing and PR and build a strong foundation for names and teams that will endure for years to come.

Allison Carter is editor-in-chief of PR Daily. Follow her on Twitter or LinkedIn.

The post The Scoop: Big media names continue to flock to Substack for creative freedom appeared first on PR Daily.

AI writing can often come across as flat and stale. However, with just a little extra work, artificial intelligence can learn and reproduce your brand voice. You don’t even need a paid account to do it.

Start by pulling a reference library of materials that showcase your brand voice. This could be press releases, emails, speeches — whatever showcases how your brand sounds and feels. You can also add a style guide if you have it. You can either upload documents directly or copy and paste them into the prompt field and tell your AI friend to use it as a guide.

But even with that information, you won’t get perfection off the bat. Tell the AI what it does well and what needs work, and it will learn and improve over time. Be specific in your feedback — remember, it’s essentially a clever intern at this stage.

Now, you’ll get generative writing that’s more in-line with your brand voice and style. But remember: human editing is the last and most important step for any AI endeavor.

For more ideas ranging from tactical to future-focused, join us for the first Ragan’s AI Horizons Conferences in Miami, Florida, Feb. 24-26.

The post One Big AI Tip: Train AI on your brand voice appeared first on PR Daily.

We are just a month away from Communications Week, a worldwide celebration of the PR and communications industry hosted by Ragan Communications featuring more than 60 industry partners and 20 academic mentoring programs including NYU, Pepperdine and the University of Florida, all anchored by Ragan’s nearly sold out Future of Communications Conference in Austin on Nov. 13-Nov.15.

In preparation, we’ve asked our Communications Week Board of Advisors, composed of internal and external comms leaders at some of the biggest brands and agencies in the industry, to step out from behind the scenes for a roundtable discussion sharing their perspective on some of their biggest wins this year (talent, becoming strategic advisors), how they’re overcoming their biggest challenges (doing more with less, crisis and union comms, executive buy-in) and what they think the biggest storylines will be in 2025.

Roundtable participants included:

Sarah Plaster, Head of ESG Strategy, SAIC
Christina Frantom, Internal Communications Lead, Mercedes-Benz
Emily Graham, Chief Equity and Impact Officer, Omnicom
Brandi Boatner, Manager, Digital and Advocacy communications, IBM
Amy Jaick, U.S. Head of Communications, Freyr Battery
Sean Langston, Jr, Head of Internal Communications, Reddit
Nicole Neal, Vice President, Head of Internal Communications, Zurich North America
Meredith Klein, former Head of Consumer & Product Communications, Pinterest
Stacie Barrett, Director of Internal Communications, Domino’s
Steve Cody, CEO, Peppercom
Matt Kinsman, Chief Content Officer, Ragan Communications

Matt Kinsman: What’s had the most impact on your team this year?

Christina Frantom: We have been working hard to stay connected as a global team this year. In such a large organization it can be difficult to pinpoint the human interest stories that we like to elevate. In the U.S., we love reading about our Team Members in South Africa, Germany, Mexico and they love reading about what we are up to here in Alabama. The trouble is we are coordinating publication schedules and content across time zones and cultures. Sometimes things get lost in translation, literally.

Steve Cody: Unionization is a major issue, and we also have the November 4th elections approaching. How do we get such a diverse group—red state, blue state, white collar, blue collar—to collaborate? AI is also huge, especially in crisis planning. We represent a number of colleges and universities, and October 7th is huge in terms of crisis planning. That’s what comes to mind first and foremost, those four things.

Meredith Klein: Internal comms in an election year, in such a combative climate has become even more critical. There’s also misinformation, especially with AI-generated content. For communicators, we’ll have a lot of inbound and outbound work, clarifying and correcting the facts.

And then on the consumer side, I think with the increase in Gen Z and how they consume news, more and more what I’m pitching now is newsletters, Substacks and creators, and less of the traditional communications part, to be honest. If I get a social post or a newsletter inclusion or a Substack inclusion or a podcast, that’s huge. I think you’re going to see a lot of the CEOs start shifting towards that. Kory Marchisotto, CMO of E.L.F. Beauty, is already doing a really good job doing that.

Meredith, you mentioned non-traditional communications. Sean, you had some interesting thoughts on how the mission of comms is evolving.

Sean Langston, Jr.: This is something my team is deeply entrenched in as we plan for the year ahead. I say it all the time and I’ll say it again, communications professionals are in an environment where we have to do more with less. And with that comes the challenge of scale. How do we work towards becoming more of an advisory, enablement, and empowerment function and less of an activation function? How do we give folks the right tools and best practices to communicate more effectively without our participation, and how might that influence how we support our internal customers across the business?

My team is keen to drive more enablement than activation. We’re evolving to become more of a strategic advisory function (while also continuing to drive our core programming and services). The challenge is scaling and giving our partners the right tools, like standards, playbooks, templates, and tools so they can manage more moments on their own. This shift helps us focus more on strategy and less on day-to-day execution.

Stacie Barrett: Sean, I love that. We’re also focusing on making our people strategic partners. With so much change happening inside and outside our organization, it’s about equipping everyone with the right messaging and letting them guide the conversation.

Nicole Neal: In this era of shrinking teams, I have to keep reminding our people that we’ve never been this small of a team before and the need to break down silos has never been more important. We’ve got the support of our CEO and I think we need to present that united front with him to show how we are able to be that advisor for the organization.

Christina: I’ll follow up with how we did it here very recently at Mercedes–we asked our global marketing and sales teams to support us with process and content and they responded beautifully. Something as simple as making our extensive brand guidelines available online in an interactive format really made a huge difference. So, comms and PR folks, look at your marketing and sales people for some of that additional support.

With reduced headcount and shifting priorities, how are you going to market?

Amy Jaick: Discipline is key, especially with fewer resources. We created a scoring system to prioritize opportunities, so we don’t waste time on things that don’t meet our criteria. For example, we cut down on speaking engagements unless they aligned with our goals. Putting in place this criteria that everybody agrees with across the organization is a good way to both help all of us maximize our impact and our time and gives us cover when we have to say no without making it a personal issue.

Christina: Headcount is always a real challenge. We have Team Members from all over the world at our disposal, so we work hard to get the right person in the right role. It isn’t always easy, but I love it when we get to hiring more experienced communicators. We have a great senior team. It’s still small, but it’s really broad in terms of its expertise. And I’m grateful for it.

Are you hiring different types of people, with skills outside traditional comms?

Sean: I’m not actively hiring right now, but if I were, I’d immediately focus on a specific set of soft skills vs. traditional comms experience. Internal comms has been elevated in such a way over the past few years that traditional communicators might not necessarily be the best fit for today’s challenges. Problem-solvers who can build relationships and skillfully navigate the complexities of nonhomogeneous organizations and all of the external impacts can make a big impact. We have to find a path to unlock scale by giving people the tools to get a ‘B-’ on their own. And I think in this communications economy, we’ve got to be okay with the B- as a self-service output. Our value comes in getting deeper into the high-leverage work that demands an A+.

Nicole: I hired two people who brought differentiated skills. One had both internal and external communications experience, plus a podcast. Another brought a desire to work with measurement and technology, which has helped us tell our story.

Sarah Plaster: Communication skills are foundational, but without critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, the volume of work will overwhelm you. Leaders need to help prioritize their teams’ work, not just hand it off and say, “figure it out.”

What do you think will be the biggest storyline for comms next year?

Christina: The industry is overlooking a shift in DE&I. We’re one incident away from a renewed focus on how businesses integrate DE&I at every level. With AI, the question will be who owns content. AI should help us work more efficiently, but leaders are still stuck on paying for time instead of ideas.

Emily Graham: DE&I continues to be a topic of trepidation. In the U.S., many organizations may be waiting until the outcome of November’s presidential election to determine their next step. Instead of waiting, we need to overcommunicate internally and audit our DE&I strategy before the election results are in. There’s a lot of external noise, but communicators should ensure their company’s DE&I stance is clear. Election Day doesn’t matter if your organization is committed to DE&I.  Sure, pivots and elements of a DE&I plan will evolve, but corporate leaders of DE&I need to put their strategy in place right now. I agree on AI completely.

The other thing that I’m starting to hear is that many employees, either early or mid-level in their career, are really worried about the economy and cost of living. We need to expand our focus on DE&I to include socio-economic diversity among our employees. I don’t know if that’s coming up for anyone else, but we’re even starting to have people say, ‘I can’t afford to go on business travel and not be reimbursed for 10 days.’ I think that DE&I, communicators and those focused on business operations like HR need to work together and get more in tune with the financial impact that actions like business travel may have on the people we work with and the communities we serve.

Sarah: There’s a lot of research on DE&I out there. I just read one from Gartner that 70% of corporations are not changing anything about their DE&I programs and an even higher percentage of CEOs are committed to it. But the challenge is the noise, right? We all know that diversity sparks innovation and we’re an innovation and a tech company. Shame on us if we don’t double down. And in fact, our executive leadership group actually used the term ‘double down’ on DE&I and we haven’t received any external pressure. But I think it’s really battling those voices out there that may not really speak the truth on what diversity brings to a corporation.

Stacie: We had a group of Gen Zers educate us on where they want to work and what they want to buy. If your team doesn’t reflect your customers, you’re in trouble. Communicators need to tell that story to leadership in a way that resonates.

Let’s end on a high note. What were your biggest wins this year?

Stacie: Hiring a great team member who can speak to multiple generations and running successful storytelling events and focusing on sharing data and metrics to be more visible to both my customers internally and my franchise community. We’re a franchise organization and we need to make sure that we are driving results so that we can continue to grow our team and show our impact.

Christina: For us, it was definitely the cutting-edge tech and visionary concepts in our vehicles. We had the MBUX Virtual Assistant release as well as a beautiful concept CLA Class that is transforming the relationship our customers have with their Mercedes-Benz. Not to mention the in-car gaming developments on the horizon. It has been a fun year working on some really exciting projects.

Steve: Learning and development–junior and middle level people were asking for more guidance on how they can win new business. We ran a speed-dating-style learning event for junior and mid-level staff to practice winning new business. We gave our people the elevator pitch for Peppercomm and the determinant of success or failure was getting the client, the prospect, to agree to allow us to connect with them on LinkedIn. It was a huge hit, and Brandi was a big part of that.

Brandi Boatner: My biggest win was giving back to the industry. Helping others develop professionally is why we do what we do.

The post CommsWeek Board Roundtable: From activators to advisers and prioritizing skills over experience appeared first on PR Daily.

In the last week alone, mis- and disinformation has engulfed the United States. A variety of misleading or purposefully wrong information around hurricane aid is hampering relief efforts and clouding evacuation efforts. Layer that on top of targeted, state-sponsored disinformation from Iran, Russia and China related to the election and it’s clear it’s harder than ever to tell truth from fiction.

That constant press of disinformation helped inspire Edelman to start a new Counter Disinformation Unit to help serve organizations striving to correct the record and protect themselves from false information.

Dave Fleet, Edelman’s head of Global Digital Crisis, said over the past few years, they’ve seen more organizations approaching them looking for help with this rising problem.

“We’re bringing in dedicated resources,” Fleet said. “We have a number of different partnerships with different vendors, and we’re really seeing this as a response to the increased challenges in this area that our clients are facing.”

While Edelman has offered mis- and disinformation services since 2021, the big difference now are the resources being applied directly to this threat, including the newly appointed Simon Paterson, as U.S. head of counter disinformation.

Here’s what Fleet attributes the rise global disinformation to – and what organizations can expect to face in the future.

Why disinformation is booming

Fleet outlined several areas he believes are driving the explosion of disinformation.

First is what he calls the “weaponization of culture,” which includes political polarization and decreasing trust in experts, such as academics, scientists and others who were once looked to as sources of truth.

“This belief that I can just go do my own research, my Google search is just as valid as a credentialed expert, leads to leads to a lot of misinformation,” Fleet said.

The overall geopolitical state of the world also contributes, with mis- and disinformation arising from foreign and domestic sources – and both targeted and organic origins.

And, of course, there’s AI. “That is increasingly impacting the work itself, but I also think it’s had an exponential impact on the visibility and the awareness of mis- and disinformation as a threat, and it’s led to it being at the top of corporate agendas,” Fleet said.

Some of those AI threats remain hypothetical, but others are here and real, Fleet said. Deepfakes can not only cause reputational harm by creating false narratives, they also impact businesses through cybersecurity risks, such as impersonating an IT leader to get a password reset.

“The core is, it’s getting it’s getting more difficult to counter, both in terms of its quality, its quantity, [and] its accessibility,” Fleet said.

How organizations can protect themselves

With so many threats looming, tracing back to from grandparents sharing AI memes on Facebook to nation states, what’s an organization to do?

The most important factor is to prepare. Now.

“What are the core aspects of your business and your core narratives that you need to be ready to defend?” Fleet asked. “Because you’re not going to be able to fend off everything; no one has the resources to tackle every little rumor. But what are the core narratives to defend? Who is actually active against you? What are the tactics, techniques and procedures? We call them, TTPs. What are they using?”

Once you understand the risks, it’s time to plan – which can look very different from planning for a more traditional crisis.

“I’ve done simulations with incredibly well-drilled companies, and from a crisis perspective, their processes just fall apart when a disinformation angle is introduced and it throws a wrench,” Fleet said.

It’s important as part of planning to train your employees to identify disinformation.

“It’s a pretty universal idea that you’re going to react negatively to being manipulated,” Fleet said. “And so teaching people the warning signs of manipulation and what to do if they see those warning signs:  Running down the sources, going looking for a second source of information, actually looking at the credibility of the outlet, things like that — that’s really important.”

But manipulation can be more subtle than a deepfake image or a rumor on TikTok. Fleet said there have been instances of bots being used to make an event seem more significant than it is on social media, thus feeding the algorithm to show that content to more people and inflating its importance. Reports indicate that has been the case with anti-DE&I social media campaigns that were waged against John Deere, Tractor Supply Company and others.

“It’s a broader understanding of media literacy, but just as importantly, it’s understanding some of these signals, that something, some kind of manipulation, is afoot,” Fleet said.

That clarity is much easier to have before a crisis strikes.

“I think that the key for companies is not to wait for it to hit them,” Fleet said. “It’s for them to take the action now, to build that preparation and resiliency so that when it happens, they’re on the front foot.”

Allison Carter is editor-in-chief of PR Daily. Follow her on Twitter or LinkedIn.

The post Why Edelman started its Counter Disinformation Unit appeared first on PR Daily.

As the communications landscape evolved at breakneck speed in 2024, PR professionals adapted with ingenuity, determination and a deep commitment to excellence. Finalists in the PR Daily Awards stood out by rising to these challenges, using their expertise to ensure that their organizations and clients got the recognition they deserved.

PR professionals have had to rethink every aspect of their work, from media relations to stakeholder engagement. Their dedication to finding innovative solutions, harnessing the power of technology and maintaining a steadfast commitment to ethical practices has helped their clients weather the storm. Ragan’s PR Daily Awards recognizes these PR professionals, marketers, agencies, brands and campaigns of the past year.

All of these finalists will be celebrated at the upcoming PR Daily Awards ceremony, held in December at the Chelsea Pier City Winery in New York City, where the leaders, trailblazers and rising professionals who have shaped the future of public relations will be honored and category winners will be announced.

Also part of this year’s event, PR Daily will recognize the Top Agencies honorees. These leading industry agencies have redefined the standards of innovation and excellence, demonstrating their talent for elevating brands, campaigns and client partnerships to new heights.

“Congratulations to the finalists in our 2024 PR Daily Awards and to the Top Agencies Honorees,” said Brendan Gannon, senior marketing manager for Ragan’s and PR Daily’s Award programs. “This was the largest and most impressive group of entrants that we’ve ever seen, and your recognition is a credit to your compelling campaigns, creativity and teamwork.”

Congratulations to all the finalists and honorees for their remarkable achievements. We look forward to seeing them all in New York City.

Click these links to jump to each section.

2024 Top Agencies

TOP AGENCIES • AGENCY IMPACT AWARD • TOP AGENCY WORKPLACES

PR Daily Awards

Finalists: Grand Prize

PR Campaign of the Year

Finalists: GENERAL CAMPAIGNS

B2B Campaign • B2C Campaign • Brand Reputation Campaign • Branding Campaign • Cause-Related Marketing Campaign • Community Relations Campaign • Content Marketing Initiatives • Corporate Communications Campaign • Crisis Management • DE&I Communications • Employee Relations • Employer Branding • ESG Communications • Event PR or Marketing Campaign • Excellence in Social Media • Executive Communications • External/Internal Communications Campaign • Global PR Campaign • Guerrilla Marketing • Influencer Campaign • Integrated PR & Marketing • Marketing Campaign • Media Event • Media Pitch • Media Relations Campaign • Media Strategy • Multicultural Campaign • Newsjacking • Nonprofit Campaign • Original Research • PR on a Shoestring Budget • Product Launch • Public Affairs Campaign • Publicity Stunt • Re-branding or Re-positioning Campaign • Social Justice/Advocacy Campaign • Social Media Campaign • Social Responsibility • Storytelling Initiatives • Thought Leadership Communications • Use of Data and Measurement • Use of Generative AI • Video Communications • Video: Single Video • Visual Storytelling Initiatives

Finalists: CAMPAIGNS BY INDUSTRY

Arts, Entertainment and Media Campaign • Consumer Packaged Goods Campaign • Education Campaign • Food and Beverage Campaign • Hospitality and Tourism Campaign • Manufacturing Campaign • Professional Services Campaign • Retail Campaign • Sports Campaign • Technology and Information Services Campaign • Various

Finalists: HEALTHCARE PR AND MARKETING

Marketing Campaign of Year • PR Campaign of Year • Social Media Campaign of Year

Finalists: PEOPLE AND TEAMS

Agency of the Year • Executive of the Year • Marketing Professional of the Year • Media Relations Professional of the Year • PR Professional of the Year • PR Team of the Year • Social Media Professional of the Year • Young Professionals of the Year

Finalists: PODCASTS, PUBLICATIONS AND MORE

Annual Report • Blog • Digital Publication • Podcast • Print Publication • Special Reports • Website

Finalists: PR EVENTS (LIVE OR VIRTUAL)

Community Event • Employee Event • Experiential Campaign • Influencer Event • Pop-Up Event or Experience • Press Event or Media Tour

TOP AGENCIES

1Milk2Sugars

5WPR

Airfoil Group

All Points PR

Alloy

APCO

Ascend Agency

Autumn Communications

Berk Communications

BODEN Agency

BPM-PR Firm (Beautiful Planning Marketing & PR)

Caliber Corporate Advisers

Channel V Media

Coyne PR

Dittoe Public Relations

Fight or Flight

Firebrand Communications

Fortier Public Relations

French/West/Vaughan

Greenough Communications

HAVAS Formula

Haymaker Group

HUNTER

Identity

JPA Health

Just Drive Media

Kaplow Communications

KLG PR

KWT Global

MediaSource

MikeWorldWide

Mission Control Communications

Moore

Mower

North Strategic

Paquin Public Relations

Peppercomm

Porter Novelli Latin America

Quarter Horse PR

Real Chemistry

RF|Binder

Sachs Media

Sharp Think

Silverline Communications

SMITHHOUSE

Snackbox

SourceCode Communications

TEAM LEWIS

The Bliss Group

The Brand Agency

The Hoffman Agency

The Levinson Group

The Sway Effect

The TASC Group

Tier One Partners

Treble Public Relations

Vested

Vision360 Partners

Weber Shandwick

AGENCY IMPACT AWARD

All Points PR

Edit Media Group

KWT Global

Moore

Quarter Horse PR

Vanguard Communications

TOP AGENCY WORKPLACES

Dreamday

Fight or Flight

Identity

IZEA

Kaplow Communications

KWT Global

M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment

Montieth & Company

The Key PR

GRAND PRIZE

PR Campaign of the Year

Current Global, an IPG PR Company: Reframing MS with Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Novartis

Disney Cruise Line: Unlocking the Disney Treasure

NASA, Lockheed Martin, the University of Arizona and Department of Defense Public Affairs: OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Communications Campaign

PATRÓN Tequila: PATRÓN Tequila’s Formula for Fame: A Mexican Heritage Victory Lap at F1

SAG-AFTRA: SAG-AFTRA 2023 Strike Campaign

Sony Electronics: For the Music Campaign

Tequila Don Julio/DIAGEO: Projecting Tequila Don Julio to New Heights

The Brand Guild: Minnetonka Thunderbird Launch

UScellular: UScellular’s Global Day of Unplugging Campaign

GENERAL CAMPAIGNS

B2B Campaign

Big Valley Marketing: Enabling AI

Bospar: SignalFire: From Seed Stage to Front Page

Diffusion PR: Elevating Brand Awareness of alliantgroup Through Strategic Thought Leadership

Fight or Flight for Frontify: Spot the Brand

Firebrand Communications: Perceptyx: Decoding Work

Look Left Marketing: Aerospike: Disrupting a Decades-old Database Market

PwC: The Trust Academy

B2C Campaign

Coldwell Banker Realty: Coldwell Banker Dream Campaign

Next PR: Next PR and Ossia CES Campaign

PepsiCo Beverages North America — STARRY: STARRY Dial a 3

Samsung: S24 in Space

Transportation Energy Institute: TEI Geo-Targeting Campaign

UScellular: UScellular’s Global Day of Unplugging Campaign

Visit The Woodlands: Pathways Magazine

Brand Reputation Campaign

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and APCO: Treat the Cause

Endo: New Brand Identity for the New Endo

LSG: Made Possible by Your Children’s Hospital

PwC: The Trust Leadership Institute

Branding Campaign

ECMC Group: Empowering Teens to Question The Quo in Choosing Their Future Education Path

Endo: New Brand Identity for the New Endo

HII Mission Technologies: Mission Ready Means — Delivering the Advantage

Sony Electronics: For the Music Campaign

The Archer School for Girls: The Archer School for Girls Rebrand

Wellabe: Wellabe Brand Launch

Cause-Related Marketing Campaign

Chick-fil-A: Chick-fil-A Shared Table Program

Sherlock Communications & Mindray: Juntos Por Una Sonrisa

UScellular: UScellular’s Global Day of Unplugging Campaign

Community Relations Campaign

American Airlines: 80th Anniversary of D-Day

Campbell’s Digital Workplace Team: Campbell’s/Salvation Army Camden Kroc Center Adult Fun Fiesta

Lendmark Financial: Climb to Cure Campaign

Suburban Propane: SuburbanCares

Content Marketing Initiatives

Daversa Partners: Marketing & Communications Team

Jackson Spalding: Buzzing Engagement: Driving Conversions with Content Marketing

PwC US: Content Marketing Initiative: PwC US People Campaign

Corporate Communications Campaign

Children’s Health: ‘Expanded Space, Expanded Care’ Communications Plan

Intesa Communications Group & San Diego Tourism Authority: Summer of Economic Power: Celebrating San Diego’s Tourism Industry

L’Oréal: CES 2024

PwC: My AI

Siemens: Positioning a Leading Technology Company

UL Solutions: IPO and First Earnings Report 2024

Crisis Management 

Sacramento Municipal Utility District: Storm Response

SAG-AFTRA: SAG-AFTRA 2023 Strike Campaign

University of California, Davis: Crisis and Emergency Communications Training

DE&I Communications 

Brighton Health Plan Solutions: Marketing Communications Team

Nissan Motor Co.: Nissan DEI Champion

Open Plaza: Autism Friendly Space

Sallie Mae: National Scholarship Month

Visit Lauderdale: Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Program

Employee Relations

Amgen: Because It Matters: Amgen Mission Week 2023

California Department of Tax and Fee Administration: You Make a Difference Campaign

Chevron: San Ramon HQ Move

City of Hope Orange County: Hope is at Work

Cognizant: 2024 Impact Awards

HII Mission Technologies: Mission Starts At Home

Employer Branding

Brighton Health Plan Solutions: Employer Branding Campaign

HII Mission Technologies: Mission Starts at Home

The Bliss Group: The Bliss Group for CareOne

ESG Communications

Consolidated Asset Management Services: Annual ESG Report

FischTank PR: Climate Media Relations for Sublime Systems

Kite Hill PR: Sapphire Technologies

Mastercard: ESG in Action

Event PR or Marketing Campaign

Bader Rutter: McCain Foods EPIC Throwdown

BML: 44 Years in the Making: A Total Media Sweep Sets the Stage for Supercross’ Anticipated Return to Philly

FINN Partners: Into New Action Sports Festival in Virginia Beach

Georgia Commute Options: Biketober 2023

INFINITI USA: INFINITI Reveals All-new 2025 INFINITI QX80

JSA + Partners: The Madden NFL Championship Series

MikeWorldWide: The Kentucky Derby

Pratt Institute: The New Village: 10 Years of New York Fashion PR Campaign

ROX United: Golfzon Social Brooklyn

Supernal & Edelman: Supernal Air Taxi Takes Flight at CES 2024

Tequila Don Julio/DIAGEO: Projecting Tequila Don Julio to New Heights

Excellence in Social Media 

Help at Home: Help at Home’s Social Media

Just Drive Media: Social Media Strategies Built on Insight and Artistry

Mower and 84.51˚: Elevating 84.51˚’s Social Media Presence

Peterbilt: Peterbilt Social Media

PwC: Excellence in Social Media

Relatable: ScratchPad Pro

Samsung: S24 in Space

Executive Communications

Daversa Partners: Marketing & Communications Team

KWT Global: Navigating Change, Driving Results

University of California, Davis: Checking In with Chancellor May Email

External/Internal Communications Campaign 

Advocate Health: Nurses Week

Arca Continental Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages: Fizzing with Excitement — Building Employee Engagement

Arkansas Children’s Strategic Marketing: Arkansas Children’s

Atrium Health: MoMo Twins

JSI: International Women’s Day 2024 Campaign

Metrolinx: Ontario’s One Fare Program

PepsiCo: No Lay’s, No Game

UW Medicine Strategic Marketing and Communications: Center for Behavioral Health and Learning

Global PR Campaign

Allied Universal: World Security Report

CeraVe: CeraVe Schools Influencers From Around the World to Clear Up Acne Confusion

Hilton: Hilton’s Global 2024 Trends Report: Spotlighting Generational Insights for a Fresh Look at Travel Trends

Guerrilla Marketing

Chesapeake Regional Healthcare: The Lifesavers of Chesapeake Regional Healthcare

DB Schenker: TPM24

Electronic Payments Coalition: Donut Touch My Rewards — EPC’s Donut Food Truck Campaign

Influencer Campaign

American Dental Association: ADA Lobby Day 2024 Influencer Campaign

Bader Rutter: McCain Foods EPIC Throwdown

Biosector 2: Using Valued Voices to Vaccinate a Nation

CMP: Find Your Beat

FCB Health New York, an IPG Health Company: My Time, My Way

Hoffman York: Wahl Clipper Corp. and AreYouKiddingTV

Kaplow Communications for GESKE German Beauty Tech: Elevating Cutting-Edge Skincare Technology Via A Star-Studded Global Launch

M&C Saatchi FABRIC North America: Samsonite Iconic Explorers Creator Program

Mars Wrigley: Skwinkles Chunks

MiraLAX: MiraLAX Exposes the Gut Gap

National Peanut Board: A Common Comfort

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers: Burgertini

Sanofi and Ruder Finn: Launching The 1 Pledge Movement

Visit Lauderdale: Laudy Dayo

Warner Bros. x IZEA: Hey Barbie: Welcome to the Dreamhouse

Integrated PR & Marketing 

BetMGM: BetMGM Super Bowl

Current Global, an IPG PR company: Reframing MS with Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Novartis

Edelman: Casey Andrews

Friends of the High Line: High Line 15th Birthday Campaign: One Path, Infinite Dreams

HUNTER: Tequila Don Julio Toasts to the Stars at the Oscars

JBL Harman: JBLiens Ear-n-vasion

Nissan: 2025 Nissan Kicks Reveal

Samsung: S24 in Space

Sanofi and Ruder Finn: Launching The 1 Pledge Movement

Marketing Campaign

FCB Health New York, an IPG Health Company: My Time, My Way

HII Mission Technologies: Mission Ready Means — Delivering the Advantage

JBL Harman Industries: JBL Fest — Authentics Brand Launch

Legend: Delsyn Brings Comfort Home

Sacramento Municipal Utility District: Contact SMUD First

Sony Electronics: For the Music Campaign

Media Event

Behr Paint: Behr’s 2024 Color of the Year

Best Buy Canada: Best Buy Game Day Viewing Party

City of Hope Orange County: The Younger Face of Cancer

French | West | Vaughan: FWV Energizes Largest Indian Company Investment in U.S. EV Market

INFINITI USA: INFINITI Reveals All-new 2025 INFINITI QX80

National Geographic: Queens Ball

Spelman College and Jackson Spalding: Spelman #100for100

Media Pitch 

Children’s Hospital Colorado: Children’s Hospital Colorado’s Call to the Community Saves Patients’ Lives

Doe-Anderson: Maker’s Mark Women’s History Month Label Promotion

Northwestern Mutual: Loud Budgeting

TVP Communications: Fast Track Advantage: Turning FAFSA Delays Into Enrollment Gains

Media Relations Campaign 

Antenna Group: From “Yuck” to “Yum”: The Epic OneWater Brew Campaign

Children’s Health: Children’s Health Tackles Youth Mental Health Crisis

Diffusion PR: Cooking Up a New Household Name — Diffusion x Dreo

Goody PR: American Paper Optics/EclipseGlasses.com Public Relations Campaign

LaunchSquad: Changing San Francisco’s ‘Doom Loop’ Narrative

Legend: Delsyn Brings Comfort Home

PAN: HireClix

SEGA of America: SEGA’s Sonic Superstars Reimagines Classic 2D Sonic the Hedgehog in an All-New Adventure

Siemens: Elevating Siemens’ Technology Story

Signify: Philips Hue: Illuminating the Future of Smart Living in 2023

Spelman College and Jackson Spalding: Spelman #100for100

Susan Davis International: ABMC Centennial Commemoration Campaign

Swinerton/Timberlab: Timberlab’s Expansion in Cross-Laminated Timber Manufacturing

Media Strategy

5WPR: 5WPR x The Lumistella Company

Dreamday: Dieux Agency Engagement Campaign

FleishmanHillard: A Paid Media Content Engine

TVP Communications: Shining Brightly and Eclipsing the Competition in Media Coverage

Multicultural Campaign 

Johnson and Johnson: Save Legs. Change Lives.

McDonald’s USA x BODEN Agency: Tapping Hispanic/Latino Anime Culture Through WcDonald’s

PepsiCo Multicultural: PepsiCo Donates $250,000 to Historically Black Colleges and Universities to Help Tackle Food Insecurity

Newsjacking

Felix Cat Insurance: Cat of the Year

Jewish National Fund-USA: Israel Resilience Campaign

The Bliss Group: The Bliss Group for RapidRatings

The Lake House on Canandaigua: A Solar Eclipse Spectacle for The Lake House on Canandaigua

TVP Communications: Fast Track Advantage: Turning FAFSA Delays into Enrollment Gains

Nonprofit Campaign 

Campbell’s Digital Workplace Team: Campbell’s/Salvation Army Camden Kroc Center Adult Fun Fiesta

ECMC Group: Empowering Teens to Question The Quo in Choosing Their Future Education Path

Jackson Spalding: One Spokespeach, 7 Languages: Helping 2.8 million Georgians Stay Informed and Stay Covered

Jewish National Fund-USA: Israel Resilience Campaign

Landis Communications for Save the Redwoods League and Giant Sequoias Lands Coalition: Doctor’s Check-up for General Sherman Tree

Outward Bound: The Big Rappel

The V Foundation for Cancer Research: Don’t Give Up…Don’t Ever Give Up!: The 30th Anniversary of the V Foundation for Cancer Research

Original Research 

Ares Management Corporation: Philanthropy, Purpose and Professional Development: Why Workplace Volunteer Programs Matter

GLAAD: Where We Are on TV

Jackson: Security in Retirement Series

New York Life Insurance Company: Wealth Watch Research

PR on a Shoestring Budget 

American Dental Association: Advancing Public Health Through Clinical Practice Guideline Campaign on Acute Dental Pain Management

Campbell’s Digital Workplace Team: Campbell’s/Salvation Army Camden Kroc Center Adult Fun Fiesta

Pratt Institute: Transit Art Tour

Product Launch 

Baldwin and Obenauf: CenTrak and BNO’s Seamless Dual Product Launch Strategy

Diffusion PR: Capturing New Frontiers and Audiences — Diffusion and GoPro

Evorus Group: Daytona Supply Co Style Products Launch

Hilton: Hot Off the Iron: Hampton Showcases Breakfast Innovations with Paris Hilton in ‘The Year of the Waffle’

Hoffman York: Wahl Pro Series High Visibility Trimmer Launch

HUNTER: Tequila Don Julio Toasts to the Stars at the Oscars

JBL Harman Industries: JBL Fest — Authentics Brand Launch

Nissan: 2025 Nissan Kicks Reveal

Penske Truck Leasing: Catalyst AI

Perrigo x HAVAS Red: The Smart, Sexy and Seriously History-Making Launch of Opill

Planit: Current Backyard Launches the Current Model G at CES 2024

Public Affairs Campaign

American Medical Association: Mifepristone Work

Defense Intelligence Agency: DIA UAV Campaign

Lodestone: InvestHER

LSG: Made Possible by Your Children’s Hospital

RLF Communications: NC Medicaid Expansion

Arkansas Children’s: Arkansas Children’s

Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey: Eat. Hug. Love. Campaign

Utah Department of Commerce: Knights of Scamalot

Publicity Stunt

Dr. Squatch: Dr. Squatch’s Ball Care Campaign

INFINITI USA: INFINITI Reveals All-new 2025 INFINITI QX80

Legend: Mucus Disappearus with Mucinex and Penn & Teller

Outward Bound: The Big Rappel

Tequila Don Julio/DIAGEO: Projecting Tequila Don Julio to New Heights

Re-branding or Re-positioning Campaign 

7-Eleven and Edible: 7-Eleven Brings Slurpee to a New Generation

American Association for Debt Resolution: American Fair Credit Council Relaunch as the American Association for Debt Resolution

Bospar: Paul Smith’s College: Sustainability and Adventure in the Adirondacks

Endo: New Brand Identity for the New Endo

LaunchSquad: Changing San Francisco’s ‘Doom Loop’ Narrative

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers: Red Robin’s Better Burgers

Social Justice/Advocacy Campaign

Better Together: Better Together Insight Report: Navigating Biases in Generative AI

Community Health Resources: Real Life, Real Hope Moments

Social Media Campaign

Converse: Find Your Beat

KWT Global: How Illumina Created #GenomicsTok

Medela: Answering Breastfeeding FAQs

Merz Aesthetics: Community Building and Engagement

Nissan Motor Co.: Nissan — Japan Mobility Show

PAN: Nuance Communications Instagram Campaign

Warner Bros. x IZEA: Hey Barbie: Welcome to the Dreamhouse

Social Responsibility

DraftKings: DraftKings 2023 Tree Planting

Heatcraft Refrigeration Products: Cool to be Kind

Las Torres Patagonia: Calling All Travelers: Las Torres Patagonia Announces “10 Volunteers for 10 Days”

Open Plaza: Autism Friendly Space

SpartanNash: Helping Hands Day

SpartanNash: Water Donation

WorldMark by Wyndham: Planting Seeds

Storytelling Initiatives

Behr Paint: Behr’s 2024 Color of the Year

Cutline Communications: eharmony’s Dating Diaries

Identity: Look No Further Than Sterling Heights, Michigan

Las Torres Patagonia: Calling All Travelers: Las Torres Patagonia Announces “10 Volunteers for 10 Days”

PepsiCo’s Global Foods Group: PepsiCo’s Quaker Brand Celebrates Unsung Heroes in First Global Campaign Initiative

Travere Therapeutics: RKD & Me

Thought Leadership Communications

ASIS International: 2024 ASIS International Blog

Help at Home: Advancing Home Care for the Better

Peppercomm for Wilmington Trust: Peppercomm for Wilmington Trust

PwC: The Trust Survey: Bringing the Business Case for Trust to Life

RSM US LLP and FleishmanHillard: Thought Leadership Campaign: RSM x FH

TRIMEDX: Becoming an Industry Authority by Pivoting Thought Leadership Strategy and Execution

Use of Data and Measurement

5WPR: 5WPR x Adzuna AI Jobs

Bospar: SignalFire: From Seed Stage to Front Page

FINN Partners: Allianz Partners’ Vacation Confidence Index Earns Media Dividends

Orlando Health with MediaSource: The Test & Learn Approach: Quantifying the Business Impact of Earned Media in Healthcare

NeuroStar: Breaking Barriers with NeuroStar Depression Barometer

Use of Generative AI

Better Together: Better Together Insight Report: Navigating Biases in Generative AI

Providence: Providence Communication Team

Video Communications

AbbVie Oncology: Blood Cancer, Explained Episode 3: A Global Mission to Improve Lymphoma Care

Pendleton Whisky: Empowering Veterans, One Sip at a Time: Pendleton Whisky Teams Up with Bob Woodruff Foundation

PwC: Trust in Action

South County Tourism Council: This Is South County, Rhode Island

Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association: Help Us Help You

Visit Lauderdale: Hidden in Plain Sight

Video: Single Video

Arca Continental Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages: Big Red Truck: A Musical-Inspired Ad for A Texas Bottler

CMP: Signs From the Ocean Documentary

Middlesex Water Company: Welcome to Middlesex Water Company

Mouser Electronics: Forbidden Places

Opera Norway AS: Tabfulness Guru

Skillable + Gantry: Meet Skillable

UC Davis Health: Care Team’s React Video

Visual Storytelling Initiatives

Fight or Flight for Frontify: Spot the Brand

Kyowa Kirin: Ripple Effect of Parkinson’s Disease

Northwell Health with MediaSource: Integrated Visual Storytelling Campaign Captures First-Ever Medical Breakthrough

PwC: “I am PwC”

CAMPAIGNS BY INDUSTRY

Arts, Entertainment and Media Campaign

829 Studios: NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet 2023 Tour

Converse: Find Your Beat

DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities: Legacy: Civil Rights At 60

Houston First Corporation: Theater Week 2023

Lambert by LLYC: SXSW “You Can In Michigan” Event Activation

Media Minefield: Modern Artifact Campaign

MikeWorldWide: The Kentucky Derby

National Geographic: A Real Bug’s Life

National Geographic: Genius: MLK/X

National Geographic: Queens

National Geographic: Secrets of the Octopus

Noisy Trumpet Communications: ATG Entertainment: “Frozen” San Antonio

Warner Bros. x IZEA: Hey Barbie: Welcome to the Dreamhouse

Consumer Packaged Goods Campaign

PETERMAYER: Zatarain’s Smoked Sausage Mardi Gras Campaign

TUMS/Haleon: TUMS Fuses Food, Fashion and Heartburn Relief Through Limited Edition TUMS Bag

Education Campaign

Bospar: Paul Smith’s College: Sustainability and Adventure in the Adirondacks

Sallie Mae: National Scholarship Month

Samsung Electronics America: Samsung Solve for Tomorrow National STEM Competition

Texas Tech University: Eyes on the Horizon: Texas Tech University Centennial Celebration

TVP Communications: Shining Brightly and Eclipsing the Competition in Media Coverage with Indiana University

Food and Beverage Campaign

BML: A Total Eclipse of the Marg: BML Helps Applebee’s New Margarita Shine During Historic Eclipse

Ignite Social Media: PEEPS Easter

Jack in the Box and Small Girls PR: Jack in the Box and Small Girls PR

Krispy Krunchy Foods: Food and Beverage Campaign

Life Cereal and FleishmanHillard: Life Cereal #ifykyk

M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment North America: Busch Light Pit Stop Wedding

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers: The Juicier Collection

siggi’s: siggi’s digital detox

Tequila Don Julio/DIAGEO: Projecting Tequila Don Julio to New Heights

The Brand Guild: Sweetgreen x Steak

Hospitality and Tourism Campaign

Disney Cruise Line: Unlocking the Disney Treasure

Hilton Toronto: Relaunch of Hilton Toronto and the Grand Opening of Frenchy

Hilton: Hilton’s Global 2024 Trends Report: Spotlighting Generational Insights for a Fresh Look at Travel Trends

KWT Global: Bringing Four Seasons Brand Campaign to Life with Love and Kindness

MikeWorldWide: The Kentucky Derby

Pace: Serving Careers

Visit Lauderdale: Welcome Everyone Under the Sun

Manufacturing Campaign

imre: STIHL Weather Program

Lambert by LLYC: Integrated Communications Plan Advancing Global Manufacturing

Professional Services Campaign

Havas Formula: Sterling Thought Leadership

PwC: SEC Climate Rules: Turning a News Moment into a Business Opportunity

UL Solutions: IPO and First Earnings Report 2024

Retail Campaign

7-Eleven and Edible: 7-Eleven Brings Slurpee to a New Generation

Diffusion PR: Cooking Up a New Household Name — Diffusion x Dreo

Sports Campaign

BML: Bases Loaded: A Grand Slam Media Relations Campaign for the Sultan of Swat!

Johnnie Walker: Johnnie Walker “Watch Women’s Sports” Campaign

LA Clippers: Unveil New Uniforms, Logo and Brand Look

M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment North America: Busch Light Pit Stop Wedding

PepsiCo: No Lay’s, No Game

Technology and Information Services Campaign

Bospar: SignalFire: From Seed Stage to Front Page

Diffusion PR: Conquering Misconceptions in AI-Guided Mental Health Services — Diffusion x Wysa

PepsiCo: Doritos Silent

Touchdown PR: Exabeam Threat Detection, Investigation and Response Report 2023

Various

Chick-fil-A: Chick-fil-A Shared Table Program

Driftwood Capital: Driftwood Capital Media Campaign

Felix Cat Insurance: Cat of the Year

Four Hands: Launch of Amber Lewis x Four Hands

Padilla: Agoro Carbon Alliance: Reducing Ag’s Carbon Footprint — 1 Million Acres at a Time

Wrangler: French/West/Vaughan and AMP3 Public Relations PR Campaign for Wrangler x Barbie Collaboration

HEALTHCARE PR AND MARKETING

Marketing Campaign of Year

Aspire Indiana Health: MACY (Mobile Access Care for You)

FCB Health New York, an IPG Health Company: My Time, My Way

Jackson Spalding: One Spokespeach, 7 Languages: Helping 2.8 Million Georgians Stay Informed and Stay Covered

Mediktor: Albany Med AI-powered Lead Generation Campaign

PR Campaign of Year

Advocate Health: Nurses Week

Astellas Pharma and Ruder Finn: Raising Awareness About GA with Eric & Jamey Stonestreet

Current Global, an IPG PR company: Reframing MS with Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Novartis

Jackson Spalding: One Spokespeach, 7 Languages: Helping 2.8 Million Georgians Stay Informed and Stay Covered

LSG: Made Possible by Your Children’s Hospital

Social Media Campaign of Year

Merz Aesthetics: Community Building and Engagement

Smarty Social Media and Treace Medical Concepts: Treace Medical Concepts Celebrates Inaugural National Bunion Day

The Bliss Group: The Bliss Group for CareOne

PEOPLE AND TEAMS

Agency of the Year

Berk Communications

Bospar

CCOMGROUP

Coyne PR

DEY. Ideas + Influence

Evins Communications

EvolveMKD

French/West/Vaughan

Identity

IFP Communications

Mindset Consulting

The Bliss Group

The Hoffman Agency

Executive of the Year

Rick French, French/West/Vaughan

Phil Nardone, PAN

Trey Sarten, Anywhere Real Estate

Cortney Stapleton, The Bliss Group

Marketing Professional of the Year

Allie Bostwick, PATRÓN Tequila

Ibby Hussain, Vested

Jarno Oostingh, Nebo

Media Relations Professional of the Year

Tommaso Di Giovanni, Philip Morris International

Christopher Hippolyte, Syneos Health

Christopher Licata, PwC

PR Professional of the Year

Allie Bostwick, PATRÓN Tequila

Tommaso Di Giovanni, Philip Morris International

Adeena Fried, EvolveMKD

Marissa Padilla, Global Strategy Group

Kyna Willis, American College of Rheumatology

PR Team of the Year

National Geographic, National Geographic PR Team

Providence: Providence National Communication Team

Sotheby’s International Realty: Team of the Year

Supernal & Edelman: Supernal Air Taxi Takes Flight at CES 2024

Wasabi Technologies: Wasabi Technologies In-House PR Team

Social Media Professional of the Year

Nancy Anderson: HAVAS Red

Haley Norton: Nebo

Young Professionals of the Year

Amanda Akin, EvolveMKD

Erin Berst, CURA Strategies

Olivia Clarke, Nebo

Caroline Cox, Wasabi Technologies

Victoria Hill, Health+Commerce

Jessica Mara, Dow Jones

Sarah Mann, The Levinson Group

Tess Pawlisch, Needle PR

PODCASTS, PUBLICATIONS AND MORE

Annual Report

Arkansas Children’s: Arkansas Children’s

Aspire Indiana Health: Aspire Indiana Health 2023 Annual Report

Global Strategy Group: The Las Vegas Raider’s Impact Report

MD Anderson Cancer Center: A Leading Light: MD Anderson’s FY23 Annual Report

Providence: Annual Report to Our Communities

Tier One Partners for Ally Financial: Fundamentally: The 2022 Ally CSR Report

Blog

Amplify Credit Union: Amplify Credit Union Blog

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and APCO: Changemakers

Digital Publication

General Building Contractors Association: Construction Today

Marquette University: From Print to Digital, an Omni-Channel Approach to Six Magazines

PwC: Reimagining PwC Inside: A Modern and Personalized Internal Newsletter

Warner Music Group: Top Stories

Podcast

AAA Mountain West Group: The Via Podcast

AARP California: In Clear Terms with AARP California

American College of Rheumatology: ACR on Air Podcast

Big Valley Marketing: Pressing Matters Podcast

Pfizer: Science Will Win Season 3

PwC: PwC Pulse Podcast: A Business Podcast for Executives

Print Publication 

Hofstra University: Hofstra Magazine Spring 2024

Muscular Dystrophy Association: Quest Media Print

SpartanNash: People First Digest

St. Thomas University: Contact Magazine 2024

Special Reports

Bristol Myers Squibb: ESG 2023

Consolidated Asset Management Services: Annual ESG Report

ServiceNow: DEI 2023

Website

Endo: Endo.com: New Website for the New Endo

Host Hotels & Resorts: Reimagining the New Corporate Website

LMI Consulting: SMART Scholarship-for-Service Program

Nissan Motor Co.: Nissan Corporate Website & Newsroom

PwC: HQ: Creating a Personalized and Connected Experience for Our People

UC Davis Health: Health Library

PR EVENTS (LIVE OR VIRTUAL)

Community Event

Acadia: The Rett Family Council

Campbell’s Digital Workplace Team: Campbell’s/Salvation Army Camden Kroc Center Adult Fun Fiesta

City of Hope Orange County: A Beam of Hope: Hospital Topping Off Ceremony

PepsiCo Multicultural: Pepsi Hosts Community Day Event with Surprise Appearance by Mary J. Blige

Employee Event

Amgen: Because It Matters: Amgen Mission Week 2023

Eaton: Eaton’s LiveWire Experience

Johnson & Johnson and Porter Novelli: Global Learning Day

PwC: Leaders in Action

SpartanNash: Summit and Circle of Excellence

Experiential Campaign 

Autumn Communications: Amazon Customer Trust Event

CCOMGROUP: Neutrogena’s SPF & Padel Event: Driving Awareness Towards the New Sports Body SPF During Melanoma Awareness Month

Clemson University: It’s a Clemson World — Artisphere 2024

National Geographic: Queens New York Fashion Week – National Geographic

Texas Tech University: Eyes on the Horizon: Texas Tech University Centennial Celebration

Influencer Event

Bader Rutter: McCain Foods EPIC Throwdown

Barcel – Takis: Takis Hexas Launch

CeraVe: CeraVe Schools Influencers From Around the World to Clear Up Acne Confusion

National Geographic: Queens Safari

Responsibility.org: 2024 Responsibility.org Parenting Influencer Summit

Television Bureau of Advertising: TVB’s Countdown to Election Day Event 2024

Pop-Up Event or Experience

Autumn Communications: Amazon Customer Trust Event

Hoffman York: Wahl Manscaper Pop-Up Events

KFC: KFC Saucy Nuggets Dispensary

Morinaga America: HI-CHEW Bite-Size Candy Shop Tour

Orangetheory Fitness: Orangetheory’s “WTF is OTF?! Comedy Event” Blended Humor and Fitness to Ease Gym-timidation

Tequila Don Julio/DIAGEO: Projecting Tequila Don Julio to New Heights

Press Event or Media Tour

Antenna Group: Launching Berkeley Space Center at NASA Research Park

Discover The Palm Beaches: Flair for Fashion

LA Clippers: 2023-24 Media Day

San Diego Clippers: LA Clippers G League Team Relocates and Rebrands

The post PR Daily Awards and Top Agencies finalists and honorees announced: See the full list appeared first on PR Daily.

Grace Williams is VP of client relations at PANBlast. 

For most, the pumpkin spice latte is synonymous with fall, but for those of us in public relations, the latte’s return marks the start of a different season — predictions season. Each year, brands and publications alike publish perspectives on what’s to come in the year (or years) ahead. From macro topics like healthcare to niche subjects like forensic accounting, there’s no shortage of opportunities to contribute. 

I could see how predictions might feel tired or overdone, but it’s a great time to reset for the year ahead, have meaningful and interesting conversations with your subject matter experts and get on the radar of a few of your favorite journalists (because you can bet the topic is on their ed cals). 

Planning your predictions campaign 

There’s a variety of places your well-earned predictions quotes could live. You should use them as the thesis for customer newsletters, blog content, LinkedIn content and short-form videos. Consider campaign elements like webinars, ebooks featuring outside SMEs and customer/market surveys about the future of the industry. Pitching predictions to media is only one part of a larger initiative. 

I generally advise clients to start planning annual predictions campaigns in September. Years of data shows related pieces publish as early as October and run as late as April. Factor in the time it will take to get approved predictions from your SMEs and you better get going! 

So you’re drafting predictions… but whose? 

Once you have buy-in on the idea of a predictions campaign, the next step is to choose the thought leaders you’ll tap and schedule sessions to discuss their insights for the year ahead. Choosing thought leaders can come down to a few things: 

• Willingness — Some thought leaders are more excited by the idea of predictions than others. That’s totally fine. We need bold predictions to garner coverage, so there’s no need to spend time convincing the CFO she has to publish a prediction if she isn’t interested. 
• Title — Consider what types of predictions you might like to make and who maps to that topic. What makes the SME unique or a good fit for a specific trend? If climate change is a hot topic in your space and you have a director of sustainability, they’re likely a great person to use (and it doesn’t need to be your CEO). 
• Availability — Predictions can be a heavy lift. Story-mining calls, quote approvals, blog and/or byline approvals and interview availability. If your SME has a big initiative they’re working on to close out the year, they might not be the best pick. 
• Diversity — You’ve already considered the diversity of the SME bench you’re pitching, and the same principles apply to predictions. Readers don’t only want to know what white men have to say about 2025. 

Important note: Resist the urge to include everyone! You really only need predictions from two or three people. Anything more and you’ll likely get overwhelmed with approvals and organization. Keep the initiative simple and focused. 

Writing predictions that are *actually* good

The number one killer of predictions initiative is a bland, repetitive quote that doesn’t say much. Unfortunately, odds are your SMEs aren’t going to come to the call having just visited their favorite psychic. That’s totally okay, and it’s where you come in. 

The majority of a PR person’s work on a predictions campaign happens in the prep stage, coaxing interesting insights out of SMEs and putting together predictions that don’t suck. Here’s how to do it: 

• Provide thought starters — It’s way easier to react to someone else’s statement than it is to come up with your own. Structure your predictions calls in this format, bringing in research for your SMEs to weigh in on. Some places I like to pull from include industry predictions from the previous year (check in on them and see if they actually came to fruition), analyst reports, competitor thought leadership and conversations from sales calls and/or your customer advisory board.
• Consider major events — ICYMI, there’s a pretty big election coming up! Consider the outcomes of that along with other macro trends that might be relevant to your industry (like holiday shopping for retail companies).
• Use AI to tell you what’s tired — The average 8th grader can type “What are some predictions for the HR tech space in 2025” into ChatGPT. So be better than that. If you want to use AI to get started, that’s fine, but if your SMEs are predicting the same as Claude or Gemini, don’t be shocked when you don’t see much success.

Be firm and confident in your follow-up questions during these sessions. You are the expert on media, and you know what will resonate and what won’t. Don’t be satisfied with the expected “AI is going to be big in 2025” response, and counsel your SMEs on the importance of vendor neutrality. No one is “checking” to make sure these predictions come true, so bolder is better. Your pushback now will result in more wins down the road. 

Most of all, make sure what you’re getting is actually a prediction. I can’t tell you how many quotes I read that are statements of fact, or the general discussion of a trend. Predictions should predict something specific. 

You’ve got the predictions, now what? 

Before you post any predictions all to an owned channel, reserve a few specifically for media. The importance of exclusivity here cannot be overstated. If media coverage is a goal of your predictions campaign, do not first publish the same predictions verbatim on your site. 

Coverage can take a variety of forms. Some reporters publish an annual roundup of quotes from go-to sources, others will use predictions as a timely topic for a Q&A or integrate the theme into ongoing coverage. Certain trades publish an entire series, with multiple articles segmented by trend. Predictions can also take the form of contributed content, where your SMEs write an entire piece either expanding on their own predictions or collaborating with others in the space on a joint piece. 

A few things to keep in mind as you’re shopping prediction quotes: 

• Do your research — It’s fairly easy to look back at coverage from this time last year and see if a reporter typically writes a predictions piece. Get a feel for their style, how they put their pieces together and offer them something they’ll respond well to. On the flip side, if they typically write in-depth features and haven’t ever run a roundup of quotes, an offer to send over a prediction is unlikely to land. 
• Review past wins — Look back at where your predictions (or your competitors’ predictions) were covered last year and soft-sound those reporters to see if they’re working on an updated piece before going broad with your offer. It’s fun to offer a retrospective on your insights from last year and follow up with refreshed perspective for the next. 
• Respect the process — I have to imagine that during predictions season the emails in journalists’ inboxes increase significantly. Due to this fact, many have developed very specific guidelines for submitting quotes. Sometimes they ask for submissions via a Google Form, others will proactively send an email to the PR people they regularly work with outlining specific guidelines (subject line, what to include, topics, etc.). This might differ from how you normally pitch, but it’s imperative to follow their guidelines. Failing to do so will lead to frustration from both sides. 
• Streamline outreach — If you work at an agency, develop some sort of system for not inundating reporters. Collaborate in a spreadsheet, or assign point people to pubs you know will run a piece. One email detailing everyone at the agency’s predictions for the supply chain in 2025 is better than 8 disparate emails.
• Original quotes — Don’t give the same quote to two different reporters. Similar topics or themes are probably okay, but the exact same quote is a no-no. 

I have always enjoyed predictions season. The opportunity to get fresh insights from our clients, inject some excitement into our campaigns and generate coverage a bit outside of the norm. It’s something we can rally around as an agency and alongside our clients, and it’s a great reminder that we work with some incredibly intelligent people who are energized by the changes we face, not intimidated by them.

Approach your predictions campaigns with genuine curiosity and enthusiasm for what the future could bring — I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. 

The post Pitching 2025 predictions? Read this first. appeared first on PR Daily.

PR Daily’s 2024 Nonprofit Awards celebrated the people, organizations and communities whose messages drove awareness and championed the causes that advanced their missions.

PR Daily hosted an awards luncheon on Sept. 27th at New York City’s Yale Club, where attendees gathered to celebrate the campaigns and strategies that platformed the purpose driving their clients and organizations.

“This year’s PR Daily Nonprofit Awards finalists demonstrate how communicating with values at te center of our message is possible every day through the stories we tell and the people we serve,” said Ragan CEO Diane Schwartz. “Working with the resources available to amplify the message and the causes they represent, these winners demonstrated a level of advocacy that instituted meaningful, lasting change in the communities they serve.”

PR Daily congratulates this inspiring group of leaders.

Grand Prize

Corporate/Nonprofit Partnership of the Year

Learning Undefeated: PORT-Able Learning Lab

BELFOR Property Restoration: National First Responders Day Initiative

Connected Nation: Teens Teach Tech

Nonprofit Communications Campaign of the Year

The Motorcycle Safety Foundation: MSF 50th Anniversary

Communications INC: High Seas Treaty Signing and Race for Ratification launch

Concern Worldwide US: Unite to Fight Hunger

Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation: Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation’s “It Takes Guts” Award Contest

PriceWeber: “Believe Me: Help and Hope for Sexual Assault Survivors”

Providence Regional Medical Center Everett: Work Stoppage Communication

The GRACE Foundation of NY: The World’s Largest Human Infinity Symbol

United Methodist Communications: #BeUMC

Nonprofit Communications Rising Star of the Year

Maryanna Antoldi: AARP Florida

Tori Martel: Allergy & Asthma Network

Nonprofit Communications Team of the Year

AARP Foundation: AARP Foundation

CCI Health Service: CCI Health Services Marketing & Communications Team

FHI 360: FHI 360 Corporate Communications

Campaigns and Communication

Advocacy or Awareness Campaign

Northeast Florida Healthy Start Coalition: Hey, Mama

Arthritis Foundation: 75th Anniversary Lights

Broward County Library: Freedom to Read Campaign

Care New England: Butler Teen Mental Health Campaign

Communications INC: Deep-sea mining at the ISA

Communications INC: High Seas Treaty Signing and Race for Ratification launch

Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area: After the 90-Days: Afghan Allies and the New American Dream

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory: NASA’s Message in a Bottle

NewYork-Presbyterian: NewYork-Presbyterian

Orphans Feeding Foundation: Stolen Voices

PriceWeber: “Believe Me: Help and Hope for Sexual Assault Survivors”

Storytelling for Good: Delta Sigma Theta Fights Texas SB1

The Joyce Foundation: Lunch and Learn Gun Violence Prevention Webinar Series

The Motorcycle Safety Foundation: MSF 50th Anniversary

Branding or Rebranding Campaign

FHI 360: FHI 360 Corporate Communications

Anti-Cruelty: Anti-Cruelty Rebrand

Brooklyn Org: Brooklyn Org Brand

Ideas On Purpose: Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Global Cities Impact Communications Series

Oceantic Network: Oceantic Network Rebranding Campaign

Utah Valley University: Branding & Awareness Campaign

Western Resource Advocates: A New Look for the West: WRA’s New Brand

Community-Nonprofit Partnership

Community Care Behavioral Health Organization: Our HAIR Campaign

Code for America: FormFest: Building Better Government One Form at a Time

EECU Credit Union: EECU x Fort Worth ISD “Stuff the Bus” Winter Clothing Donation Campaign

GBU Foundation: Community Grant Awards

Megaworld Foundation, Inc.: “Walk Into Your Future” Scholarship Caravan

Sēd: Get Joy Saves Halloween for Dogs

Content Marketing Strategy

AHIP: Content Marketing Strategy

OSF HealthCare: Pregnancy & Birthing Content Journey

PriceWeber: “Believe Me: Help and Hope for Sexual Assault Survivors”

Reading Is Fundamental: Rally to Read 100

Corporate-Nonprofit Partnership

ESPN: ESPN’s Wish Granting

Alorica: Making Lives Better with Alorica

Diversity Marketing Consortium: Diversity Marketing Consortium

Learning Undefeated: PORT-Able Learning Lab

Milton Hershey School: 2023 Hershey Sprint Car Experience

Crisis Communications

American Medical Association: Protecting Medicine from Government Interference, AMA Media Relations Team

Conway Regional Health System: Insurance Payor Negotiations

PRCN Procontent: One breath – the right to home treatment under a ventilator

Providence Regional Medical Center Everett: Work Stoppage Communication

CSR/ESG Initiatives

TEAM LEWIS Foundation: TEAM LEWIS Foundation Supports 1,500+ Causes Globally

Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc.: Konica Minolta’s 2023 Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Communications

Melwood, Children’s National Hospital, Curley Company and Contrast & Co.: Camp Accomplish Collaboration

DonorsChoose: Identity-Affirming Digital Content

Employee Communications

Providence Regional Medical Center Everett: Work Stoppage Communication

American Medical Association: AMA Employee Communications

Children’s Health: Employee Photo Mosaic Celebrates Team and Workplace in Unique Activation

City of Hope Orange County: Hope is at Work vs. OC Marketing & Communication

Goodwill of North Georgia: The Hub

HIROC: HIROCafé

Event PR and Marketing

Sēd: Get Joy Saves Halloween for Dogs

Great Jobs KC: Great Jobs KC x GMA3

Mighty Engine: UNCF UNITE 2023

Fundraising & Volunteer Communications

University of Central Florida: UCF Day of Giving 2023

AARP Foundation: AARP Foundation

Minds Matter Bay Area: Back to School Night Fundraiser

Innovation in Nonprofit Communications

Orlando Health with MediaSource & Mastercard: The Test & Learn Approach: Quantifying the Business Impact of Earned Media in Nonprofit Healthcare

Chesapeake Regional Healthcare: The Lifesavers of Chesapeake Regional

The Marfan Foundation: Marfan Awareness Month 2024

Marketing Campaign

PriceWeber: “Save My Human”

Starlight Children’s Foundation: Starlight’s Power of Play Campaign

Call of Duty Endowment: Loot for Good

Iowa Pork Producers Association: Purchase Moore Hamann Bacon

Ohio Association of Foodbanks: Understanding Ohio’s Medicaid Changes – How Get Covered Ohio Can Help

San Antonio Sports: San Antonio Sports: Activate

United Methodist Communications: #BeUMC

Media Relations Campaign

The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute with MediaSource: Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign Leverages Multimedia Storytelling, Driving Awareness, Donations and Mammograms

American Diabetes Association: 83rd Scientific Sessions Media Relations

Berkeley Communications: Employer Power in Healthcare: A bold move to reshape the system

Children’s Health: Children’s Health Tackles Youth Mental Health Crisis with Targeted Earned Media Strategy

City of Hope Orange County: The Younger Face of Cancer

Dittoe PR: Evans Scholars Foundation

Ellis Marsalis Center for Music: Branford Marsalis Returns Home to Become Artistic Director of Non-Profit Named for His Father

Environmental Defense Fund: MethaneSAT Campaign

Media Profile: Daily Bread Food Bank – Who’s Hungry

NewYork-Presbyterian: NewYork-Presbyterian Raises Awareness of Groundbreaking Advance in the Treatment of Sickle Cell Disease Through One Patient’s Inspiring Story and Physician Expertise

Otter PR: Music Beats Cancer

PriceWeber: “Believe Me: Help and Hope for Sexual Assault Survivors”

Providence Regional Medical Center Everett: Work Stoppage Communication

Sēd: Get Joy Saves Halloween for Dogs

The Hodges Partnership: Serving Up Comfort: Mercy Chefs’ Response to Maui Wildfires

The Thomas Collective: Portraits of Hope

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center: Cancer Patient Wedding Story

Multi-channel Campaign

Ohio Department of Commerce: Recovery Within Reach

American Society of Radiologic Technologists: “Be Seen” Campaign

Environmental Defense Fund: MethaneSAT Campaign

Global Strategy Group: UnidosUS’s HOME Initiative: Launching a national program to expand homeownership opportunities to four million Latinos

Metrolinx: Ontario’s One Fare Program

Milton Hershey School: The Unique Philanthropist: 100th Anniversary Campaign

Northwell Health Foundation: Baby Michael/NICU video

PR Campaign

Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego: Rady Children’s Invitational

Berkeley Communications: Employer Power in Healthcare: A bold move to reshape the system

Evocati Public Relations: Launching MilitaryConnected.org in a Crowded “Sea of Goodwill”

PR or Marketing on a Shoestring Budget

Soft Bones: World HPP Day

Storytelling for Good: SOME Trot for Hunger

Storytelling for Good: Thrive Prince George’s Launch

YMCA of Greater New York/BerlinRosen: Water Safety Month

Public Affairs Campaign

AARP: WV Social Security Tax Relief

PRCN Procontent: Safe Hospital is a Safe Patient

Re-engagement Strategy

The Marfan Foundation: Marfan Awareness Month 2024

High Tech High: Discover the ‘Wow’ of Project-Based Learning

Social Media Campaign

The Marfan Foundation: Marfan Awareness Month 2024

Conway Regional Health System: Barbie Breast Cancer Awareness

FOUR PAWS USA: March Napness 2024

High Tech High: Discover the ‘Wow’ of Project-Based Learning

Jhpiego: TB or Not TB?

Megaworld Foundation, Inc.: Mega Summer Ventures 4 All

Providence Swedish: Wellness Wednesday

Visual Storytelling

Northwell Health with MediaSource: Nonprofit Campaign Leverages Video For First-Ever Medical Breakthrough

AARP: Minnesota Paid Leave

American Society of Radiologic Technologists: “Be Seen” Campaign

Autoimmune Association: Autoimmune Expressions

Casey Family Programs: Thriving Families, Safer Children, Supportive Communities — 2023 Signature Report

Northwell Health Foundation: Baby Michael/NICU video

Communications Assets

Annual Report

Children’s Health: Children’s Health 2023 Beyond ABC Report and Symposium Spurs Action for Youth Mental Health Crisis

AARP Foundation: Annual Report

Casey Family Programs: Thriving Families, Safer Children, Supportive Communities — 2023 Signature Report

Centerstone: Centerstone’s FY23 Annual Report

Health Center Partners of Southern California: Elevating Primary Care | 2022/23 Impact Report

Milton Hershey School: 2022-2023 Brown & Gold Annual Report

Western Resource Advocates: Western Resource Advocates’ 2022 Impact Report – Building A Better West

Digital Content

Children’s Health: Children’s Health Boosts Website Visits, Reaches Spanish Speaking Audience with Translation Initiative

Georgia College & State University: GCSU University Communications

Providence Swedish: Swedish Blog

Podcast

Miami University: Major Insight

AHIP: The Next Big Thing in Health

Connected Nation: Connected Nation podcast

Opportunity Home San Antonio: Beyond Housing Podcast

OSF HealthCare: OSF Health Accelerated Podcast

Publication/Report

Northwell Health Foundation: Gratitude

Casey Family Programs: Thriving Families, Safer Children, Supportive Communities — 2023 Signature Report

Centerstone: Centerstone’s FY23 Annual Report

Connected Nation: Board of Director’s Report

Great Jobs KC: Great Jobs KC Newsletter

SCAN Group: 2024 ESG Report

World Vision U.S.: World Vision magazine

Video

Orphans Feeding Foundation: Stolen Voices

AHIP: AHIP Mission Video

ASEAN-Japan Centre: Golden Bridge Short Video Campaign

CCRC: CCRC Hacker Series

Children’s Museum Houston: Children’s Boo!seum Houston

Georgia College & State University: GCSU University Communications

Miami University: When Hippo Met Watermelon: Miami University’s Viral Moment Wins Hearts

US Youth Soccer: US Youth Soccer National Championships

Website

YMCA of Greater Toronto: ymcagta.org

Code for America: Benefits Enrollment Field Guide

Reading Is Fundamental: Website

Wellstar Foundation: Wellstar Foundation Website

For more information on our winners, check out their profiles here.

The post See all winners of PR Daily’s 2024 Nonprofit Awards appeared first on PR Daily.

Linda Zebian joined Muck Rack as its first-ever director of communications in 2022. As the comms technology platform’s senior communications director, Zebian sets the communications strategy for the company’s enterprise, both internally and externally, including messaging, issues management, media relations and employee communications. 

Before her current role, the comms leader was with The New York Times Company, where she spent 10 years in various communications positions, developing and executing communications strategies for the business side of the company including growth, product and technology to reinforce The Times’ innovation and financial success, drive subscription growth and improve retention, strengthen brand affinity and attract top talent. 

Like many other comms pros, Zebian is excited about AI’s potential to revolutionize workflows and elevate productivity, she told Ragan. On the other hand, she recognizes it may chip away at the very skills—like writing and storytelling—that make our work uniquely human. The tool that excites her the most also raises the biggest question: how do we embrace innovation without losing the craft?

 The moment I’m proudest of in my entire career is when I: 

When I was at The New York Times, our brand marketing team created a television ad, “The Truth is Hard,” to highlight how difficult it is to create original, independent journalism and why it’s worth paying for. Outside of the Super Bowl, advertisements typically don’t generate much press coverage, but I was able to secure hundreds of top-tier media hits on the creative through my pitching. It went viral, even attracting the attention of the sitting president at the time. It was so rewarding to help spread the message about how important independent journalism is to our democracy.

 The thing I’m most excited about for the future of my profession is: 

The potential of AI to transform and streamline our workflow. AI will only get better the more it understands how we work, so I’m excited to see what’s to come in recommendation tools. The idea of, “you did this so I think you might want to do that, next,” could help drive efficiencies across research, pitching, monitoring and reporting in a way we’ve never seen before. I can picture AI tools guiding us through who to pitch a story to, how to respond to a media mention, which reports and metrics we should use to showcase our success, and so much more, all based on our previous actions and outcomes. 

One thing that worries me about the future of my profession is: 

The potential of AI to eliminate the need for young professionals to build the skills required for original storytelling. In particular, I’m concerned people may not build essential writing and editing skills, which I’m already seeing is the case. If we all produce content that sounds like ChatGPT, what will happen to original stories and voices? 

A tool or a piece of software I cannot live without is: 

Muck Rack Dashboards (shameless plug) because they are so customizable to what we need for each report and so easy to reference when I want to get a quick view of how our team is performing. I can see how our coverage is changing over time, what authors are covering us the most, our sentiment and what words and phrases our brand is most associated with in real time, any time. Plus we’ve integrated Google Analytics with our main Dashboard so I can see how my team’s work is impacting traffic to our site. This helps me understand and communicate our impact to internal stakeholders and also shows which outlets are driving the most referrals, which helps us direct our efforts to the outlets that are performing well for us. 

The most rewarding part of my job is: 

One of the reasons I joined Muck Rack was to help PR pros like me drive efficiency and outcomes in their work and get the resources, recognition and opportunities we deserve for our professional growth. Leading comms for a comms technology platform is super meta, and I’ve loved the opportunities I’ve had to be more ingrained in the PR and communications community and make so many connections. One thing I didn’t anticipate was the opportunity to influence the Muck Rack product itself. I’ve had the privilege to work with our engineering and product teams to help create new tools and features to help PR pros like me be more successful. Seeing my ideas come to life on the Muck Rack platform has been pretty awesome. 

My professional motto/mantra is: 

Use fewer words.

Isis Simpson-Mersha is a conference producer/ reporter for Ragan. Follow her on LinkedIn.

The post How I Got Here with Muck Rack’s Linda Zebian: Embracing AI and storytelling appeared first on PR Daily.

Two huge corporations are facing questions about the truth behind their statements about recycling ad the environmental impact of their materials.

Petroleum giant ExxonMobil faces a lawsuit from the state of California claiming it knowingly misled the public for decades about plastics recycling. Communications is squarely in the crosshairs with the lawsuit, which CNN describes as “using slick marketing and misleading public statements for half a century to claim recycling was an effective way to deal with plastic pollution.”

The suit claims that Exxon knew that recycling would not address the vast majority of its plastic waste, yet continued to tout it as an effective solution, even as garbage piled up from the depths of the ocean to the tops of mountains. The lawsuit claims that today, Exxon continues to mislead the public about “chemical recycling,” a new technique for breaking down plastics. Exxon fired back at the suit: “(The state of California) failed to act, and now they seek to blame others. Instead of suing us, they could have worked with us to fix the problem and keep plastic out of landfills.”

Meanwhile, the Italian government is eyeing fast fashion icon Shein. Specifically, the government says that their website and social media accounts made misleading claims about sustainability, including about the recyclability of its clothes and the use of “green fibers.” The Italians also say that Shein has contradictory statements about greenhouse gas emissions in its latest sustainability report, says The Wall Street Journal. The startup company experienced explosive growth and a communications team put in place on the fly, which may have complicated its efforts at accurately describing its environmental work.

Why it matters: Often, the communications department is left cleaning up over other business function’s failures. The computers went down and stranded passengers. Bad customer service caused a social media crisis. The product just isn’t very good. But in this situation, various communications initiatives have landed these companies in hot water.

Dating back decades, the public and governments have cared deeply about protecting the environment. Companies, naturally, have wanted the good press of doing the right thing, cleaning up their act, being sustainable. But simply saying the words isn’t enough. Everything communicators release must be backed by real science, real action, real attempts to fix the problems our companies sometimes unwittingly solve.

This can put communicators in a difficult position. It’s hard to evaluate the science behind recycling, for instance. The communicators who crafted these messages may have been just as in the dark about the truth of the matter as the general public. But it proves the necessity of communicators having a seat at the table and the power – and bravery – to ask tough questions, to question the orders they’ve been given, and to ensure the company is communicating accurately and responsibly.

It’s a tall ask and one that requires true organizational change. But the alternative is a betrayed public and what is sure to be years of litigation that could ensnare may of the communicators behind these campaigns.

Editor’s Top Reads:

• ChatGPT has at last released its human-sounding voice AI assistants, though without the model that sounded uncannily like Scarlett Johansson. The advanced voice mode is available only to premium subscribers (which starts at $20 per month) and promises to offer an experience that feels akin to talking to a human. The robots can be interrupted, display emotions and alter their accent or speaking pace. ChatGPT’s long-awaited release comes as other AI models also get into the voice space: Google Gemini has begun to roll out a similar voice feature on Android devices, while Meta will offer up a celebrity voice option in the coming weeks. It’s a fascinating option that could revolutionize customer service, therapy and other aspects of modern life – but comes with some perils that communicators will need to help carefully manage, such as the emotional repercussions of talking to a robot that seems so very humanlike.
• Social media and search algorithms have seen massive changes in the last few years, in many cases diverting traffic away from news sites. Now, some of those outlets are turning to a new platform for reaching audiences: WhatsApp. The Meta-owned platform is especially popular outside the United States (or with immigrants within the country) and offers news platforms a Channel option, which allows opted-in recipients to receive a notification about content. Think of it as a social media version of the push alert. The New York Times reports that many outlets are using this feature successfully. It now drives more traffic for Telemundo than X, the network said. This feature is both worth watching as a way of better understanding the news ecosystem, and potentially developing to better communicate directly with your own audiences.
• YouTuber MKBHD (also known as Marques Brownlee) is facing pushback to a new app over its price and expansive data permissions. The Verge says that audiences have expressed frustration with the YouTube star’s Panels app, which offers phone wallpapers for $49.99 a year or $11.99 per month. If that cost for a picture to go on your smartphone makes your eyebrows raise, you’re not alone. But perhaps the bigger issue is the amount of data the app requests, including location and internet history. Users are becoming more savvy about data privacy, and the idea that this type of app requires your location doesn’t make much sense. Brownlee has already taken to X to issue a sort-of apology, claiming they went with the expansive data requests were “largely driven by what the ad networks suggest.” New product launches are always tricky and will bring up unforeseen issues. But data privacy and pricing are two that most organizations should be able to foresee. Add these to your lists of questions to ask – and prepare response statements for – if you’re ever involved in an app or software launch.

Allison Carter is editor-in-chief of PR Daily. Follow her on Twitter or LinkedIn.

The post The Scoop: Exxon, Shein face government scrutiny over environmental claims appeared first on PR Daily.

If anyone has a crystal ball, would you share it with us?

Because right now, the future is looking a little murky.

But we polled some smart communicators to figure out where the practice might be headed. We asked on LinkedIn: “What is the biggest PR storyline you see on the horizon for 2025?”

The answers fell into several categories: AI, the media, sustainability and more.

Answers have been edited for style and brevity.

AI

Michelle Songy is founder and CEO of Press Hook:

The rise of AI-native PR pros: We’ll welcome the first wave of young professionals who “grew up” with generative AI. How will AI reshape their daily workflows? Will they accelerate into strategic roles by automating tasks that traditionally consume so much time?

The freelance and consulting boom: Tight budgets and layoffs are pushing both PR pros and clients towards project-based work. This creates a dynamic marketplace where specialized skills and agility are key. PR pros can leverage their expertise to build independent careers, while clients gain access to top talent without long-term commitments.

Christy Ragle is owner/lead consultant at WholeHeart Communications:

Authentic, human-focused storytelling gains more ground as consumers tune out AI-generated messaging that is generic and boring. PR pros continue to positively leverage AI for idea generation and “blank-page-busting,” but gain new value as strategic storytellers.

Bob Oltmanns is owner and president of OPR Group:

The exploding proliferation of misinformation, disinformation, deepfakes, etc., not just from within the U.S., but from nefarious sources around the world, intending to influence U.S. consumers, voters, financial markets, social behaviors and more. Those forces are well ahead of our profession’s understanding and ability to combat them.

Jennifer Jones-Mitchell is founder of Human Driven AI.

I am hoping the biggest storyline will be legislative guardrails around AI development and the existing AI models. This tech is evolving quickly. Deep fakes are already seeping into the world. Market manipulation through AI is coming. We cannot afford to allow the companies to regulate themselves, especially as quantum computing gains critical mass because it will supercharge AI in ways we can it even imagine yet.

Ben Haber is executive vice president at Racepoint Global.

Once gen AI is widely available to create multimedia, deep fakes will become way more complicated to identify and control. We’ll also see the rise of AI content and influencers on social media that will present new opportunities and challenges for brands.

Media

Jon Amar is a public relations consultant.

Brands divert more funding and attention from top tier media to trade publications, nonprofit newsrooms, and owned media.

Tom Spalding is senior strategist at C2 Strategic Communications.

I think a top story, not the biggest picture, but snapshots of current trends, include:

1. The continuing emergence of nonprofit-based digital only news outlets and their long-term viability.
2. The even-more-prolific e-newsletters and how to properly gain metrics on reach.

3. Increasing segmentation of microblogging sites as Twitter alternatives as X displacement grows. Also looks like big focus will be on paid user/subscriber. Social now has a paywall I only see growing.

Lauren Stralo is director of public relations at LevLane.

How to be a responsible news consumer and encourage responsible news consumption. We’re living in a headline obsessed society right now, and headlines, no matter how sensational, rarely convey the full picture.

Stephanie Fung is founder of Pilea Consulting.

Digital literacy and the role PR professionals have in bringing digital literacy to the masses. This entails people using and consuming digital outlets, content and programs critically to ensure misinformation isn’t spread and AI tools are being used, not as a be-all-end all, but as a tool that is fallible.

Sam Butler is founder and principal at 35thAvenuePartners PR.

I predict a reckoning in the world of content creators. We’ve just seen Russian money funneled to YouTubers/podcasters through Tenet Media. The interests of brands and influencers will diverge, creating new conflicts and confusion. More journalists will jump ship from their employers to build new media brands around themselves. And I anticipate some high-profile content creators will be exposed for past scandals, affiliations or relationships that they’ve worked hard to keep under the radar.

Much of this is already happening. But as PR teams seek to deepen their work with emerging media and voices, their enthusiasm risks overshadowing the due diligence necessary to build and protect reputations.

Kelli Flores is managing director of 104 West Partners.

Data will drive storytelling even more than it already does. Knowing audiences better will help agencies craft more compelling, insights-driven narratives for brands that are more impactful and will result in more meaningful engagement.

Additionally, “trophy hits” in the media will continue to have waning influence, and influencers across more niche platforms like LinkedIn, Reddit, Substack and Medium will become even more crucial for brands, offering stronger content distribution and creating more impactful channels for brands.

Sustainability

Kevin Petschow is corporate communications North America lead for Nokia.

One of the biggest public relations storylines on the horizon for 2025, aside from artificial intelligence, will likely be the ethical and regulatory challenges surrounding climate change adaptation and corporate responsibility.

1. Climate disasters and accountability: As climate change continues to accelerate, the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events are expected to rise. Corporations, especially in high-impact industries like energy, agriculture and transportation, will face increasing scrutiny regarding their carbon footprints and sustainability practices. Public relations campaigns will need to focus on transparency, as consumers demand more concrete actions toward sustainability, not just greenwashing.

2. Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) regulations: Governments are likely to impose stricter ESG regulations, holding companies accountable for their environmental impact.

Nina Gaertner is a public relations consultant.

The impact of climate change and energy transition in particular, not in general, terms. Companies will have to go beyond statements and develop new key messages due to increasing demand to show measurable progress and transparent results.

Skills PR pros need

Breanna Metalf-Oshinsky is head of public relations at We Are BMF.

The increasing necessity for PR pros to have more extensive operational knowledge of cross-channel promotion and integrated marketing. The expectations of clients and the tactics it now takes to cut through noise means the definition of PR is farther beyond traditional press relations than ever before. Being a PR partner means speaking an ever-broadening marketing language. I’d also pose that’s mirrored in the media industry as editors are increasingly valued (and/or pressured) if they become their own marketing engines and hone their platforms as personalities (which has always been the case but has new crossover with the influencer space now).

Lindsay Scheidell is founder of Hadley PR.

More and more PR folks sitting at the decision-making table. Already seeing the shift.

Michelle Johnson is an adjunct professor and PhD candidate at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.

The necessity for PR pros (and students) to develop information science skills. There once was a time we could be the words people and let someone else do the “mathy” stuff. I envision a future where data analytics is a basic skill PR practitioners must possess. Predicting crises and mitigating reputation risk in a world of big data will require us to understand the data collection and analytics process

Other

Melissa Vela-Williamson is founder of MVW Communications.

How PR pros need to be unifying, calming messengers to guide raw and uncertain internal and external audiences. We need to counsel top leaders to be responsible, accountable and respectful ambassadors for their organizations. I’ve seen a huge increase in impulsive behavior, unfiltered communication and people-related issues/crises causing organizational and societal challenges in the last few years. I’m worried more about that than AI.

Emily Rand is senior communications staff, trainings and logistics solutions at Lockheed Martin.

More transparent communications (including brand flaws to reinforce authenticity) and the rise and use of short(er)-form content.

Phoebe Netto is founder of Pure Public Relations.

Marketing budgets have been cut and brands that relied on spend, glitz, stunts, celebrity spokespeople, large events and activations to attract attention will need to return to what PR does best: create connections, build credibility, and find the newsworthy angles that create preference and rise above noise (instead of adding to the noise).

Julie Ferris-Tillman is vice president and practice lead at Interdependence Public Relations.

I think tech PR practitioners in particular will be positioned to add value by bringing internal comms and change management to their clients. For example, making news with a cloud computing client, you can help them bring value to their customers by advising on all the things that affect a true cloud migration — including change management and internal comms practices.

The post The biggest communications storylines for 2025 appeared first on PR Daily.

Michael Johnson, section chief for strategic communications in the FBI Office of Public Affairs, oversees the development of OPA’s strategic communication strategies, manages the bureau’s public online presence, handles speechwriting for the director and senior FBI executives, and internal employee communications.

 Johnson most recently served as the division chief of digital engagement in the Office of Public Affairs at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Before becoming a full-time federal employee, he joined ICE in October 2005 as a contract multimedia production specialist. 

My first comms profession was:

Right out of college. A few weeks before graduating from the University of Maryland, College Park with a degree in broadcast journalism, I was hired by Medill News Service to be a photojournalist and video editor. That led to a year working in news bureaus around D.C. These were the days of big, shoulder-mounted cameras and actual videotape. I eventually followed my love of video production away from the news, but those days slamming together a package to make a satellite hit instilled a sense of urgency in how I approach work and allowed me to look at a story and cut right to the heart of the message.

The moment I’m proudest of in my entire career is when I:

Was selected for my current position with the FBI. My journey with the federal government began almost out of necessity. The video production industry was going through some significant changes in the early 2000s and the boutique post-production house I was working for let me go. I was bartending to keep busy as I looked for a new job when a mentor was contracted to create a video unit for U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the newly created Department of Homeland Security (DHS). She brought me on as a producer and set me on my path for the next 20 years.

As I realized the opportunities that were available to me in the federal government, both as an employee and a storyteller, I was determined to be a full-time federal employee. After seven years as a contractor, I was hired into my first federal position with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, also part of DHS. Over the next 15 years, I developed my skillset as a communicator and a leader, taking advantage of any opportunity to learn new things. While joining the Senior Executive Service, the federal government’s corps of executive management, was on my long-term roadmap, I didn’t anticipate pursuing that for another five years or so. However, the description for my new role with the FBI was such a perfect match that I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. I mean, this is the FBI! The moment I got the call saying I’d been selected instantly became a core memory for me.

One thing that worries me about the future of my profession is:

The attention span of the audience. I’m sure the generation before me worried about what MTV was doing to our attention spans, so maybe this is only pearl clutching on my part. But as the content we consume on YouTube and social media becomes more condensed and edited within a frame of its life, the ability to sit and read a long-form articles, listen to a meaty speech or podcast, or settle in for a longform video seems to be an increasingly rare skill. When all you have is a few hundred characters or 30 seconds of video, how can you tell the deeper story? You can give the bullet points and the headlines, but I want more. But that’s our challenge, isn’t it? To meet the audience with our message, presented in a way they want.

A tool or a piece of software I cannot live without is:

OmniFocus! It is a task management app that’s been around from the early days of the iPhone. I’ll use it for jotting down quick tasks I need to stay on top of, but it is also ideal for larger projects that need to be broken down into steps. It is location and context aware, so it only shows me work tasks when I’m at the office or reminds me that I have items on my grocery list when I’m near a grocery store. And most importantly, if I don’t want to deal with a particularly nagging task, I can snooze it to deal with later. When used in combination with Drafts, a text-entry app, I’m able to quickly get a task or reminder into my phone.

One way I stay creative and motivated is:

Listening to music. I have music playing almost all the time when I’m working. Prog, metal, punk, alt-country, metal, classical, electronic, jazz; you name it. Sometimes the music will help me get into my flow state, other times I just let it take my mind away from a problem for a few minutes or get my energy back up. Either way, I’ve always relied on music to get me through life. For anyone wondering: Pink Floyd, Rush, The Beatles, Ron Pope, Dream Theater, R.E.M., Taylor Swift, Low, Anathema, David Bowie, Radiohead. The list goes on and on.

One piece of advice I would give other people in my profession is:

Stay curious. As marketers and communicators, we are storytellers. Whether that means telling the story of a person, a government agency, or a product, it is our job to figure out how to tell the audience what we need them to know in a way that they want to hear it. When we lose that sense of curiosity, that desire to find a good story, we lose the spark that allows our work to resonate with an audience.

Isis Simpson-Mersha is a conference producer/ reporter for Ragan. Follow her on LinkedIn.

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New AI tools seem to pop up, mushroom-like, on a daily basis. Taking the time to figure out which of this colony of tools is best for which task can feel like way more work than just doing the tasks by hand.

At PR Daily, we’ve put several AI tools through their paces. Now Edelman is out with a new report that does the same, putting major LLMs Microsoft 365 Copilot, ChatGPT Enterprise, Writer, Claude and Gemini through their own tests.

The results? No one tool dominates, though the big three – Copilot, ChatGPT and Gemini – all turn in strong performances, with different strengths.

Here’s what the Edelman report found.

The best AI tool for writing

The big three tools finished in a dead heat in the writing category, Edelman found. ChatGPT Enterprise was best at processing large amounts of information, making it a solid choice for more in-depth writing needs. Gemini, thanks to its integration with Google, was adept at pulling the last recent information to inform the piece. And Copilot’s integration with Microsoft helped the AI tool maintain a consistent brand voice across its copy, as it had reams of data to pull from across the Microsoft 365 suite.

This test shows the importance of the tools’ parent companies. Both Copilot and Gemini had a leg up because of their broader connections to the tech ecosphere – something that can be difficult for startups to compete with.

The best AI tool for research

Given the first test’s results, it’s not surprising Gemini also scored strongly in the research category, in this case earning kudos for its ability to not only retrieve but prioritize information it gleans from Google’s giant search engine.. It shared the podium with Copilot, thanks again to its ability to access and return data from within Microsoft 365 products.

The best AI tool for ideation

AI can be a solid tool for looking past our own biases and getting the big picture. Copilot again took a nod in the category, this time sharing the spotlight with ChatGPT. Both tools excelled at looking at the full scope of the conversation, using  past interactions to provide better outputs, more similar to how a real brainstorming partner might act. Edelman’s testers also enjoyed the ease of natural language prompting and the ability to integrate – there’s that word again – with existing workflow tools across the organization.

The best AI tool for synthesis

Edelman defines synthesis as “recalling specific data points from extensive information sets and transforming this data to create informative, easily-understood summaries.” Both Copilot and ChatGPT excelled in this arena, taking the most important ideas from dense text, which made them both an able partner for transforming those ideas into other materials, like press releases or campaigns. Copilot’s integrations allowed it the deepest well to draw from for its synthesis.

The best AI tool for design

Design was the only category with a clear winner, no double-podium here. Thanks to its use of DALL-E 3, ChatGPT stood head and shoulders above the rest, Edelman found. They praised the tool for its ability to interpret prompts precisely, expand on creative briefs and feed existing workflows.

The best AI tool for analysis

Analysis in this case means processing data to draw insights. This was the first and only category in which upstart Writer earned special praise. “Writer transforms raw data into coherent and relevant narratives, producing detailed reports and summaries that highlight key insights and trends,” the report says.

Meanwhile, ChatGPT shined when it was asked to do sentiment analysis, such as press coverage or social media. Copilot was at its best when it could use its integrations, such as with Excel or Power BI, to feed its work.

The bottom line

The major AI players currently are the best, this analysis found. Microsoft’s existing dominance in the tech industry means that it’s already so deeply embedded into most people’s work lives that Copilot just adds a new layer of depth and ease to tools most of us already know. ChatGPT made “generative AI” a household phrase and continues to raise the bar. Gemini’s writing abilities and access to Google’s massive search engine data stockpile make it a formidable player. But the other tools may not be ready for enterprise-level use just yet.

These are early days yet for generative AI. More changes will come; tools will rise and fall in ability and popularity. Continue to experiment and monitor the horizon for new trends and changes.

Allison Carter is editor-in-chief of PR Daily. Follow her on Twitter or LinkedIn.

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