(Photo by Rachael Spiegel) Pop quiz. It’s the COVID-19 pandemic. You’re a councilperson or a mayor of a small U.S. city or town. Federal, state and local agencies are issuing a storm of new policies and information. Your constituents want answers about safety and their livelihoods. What do you do? Ryan Spiegel has been there. … Read More
Every day, we’ve seen more Fortune 500 companies announce telework plans for COVID-19 and many PR firms are following suit. Working at a distance is quite the challenge for public relations professionals who are in the business of generating visibility and enhancing relationships. In such a people-driven field, what have we lost in this extended … Read More
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies were searching for appropriate ways to be wisely sensitive about what to say and how to say it. Yes, time has passed, but guess what? We are still in the middle of a pandemic. As of this writing, the U.S. is at a 14.7 percent unemployment … Read More
Your business is about to reopen after the COVID-19 lockdown. You have a lot of process and details to handle to reopen. However, your customers, staff and other stakeholders have to trust your plans if they are going to show up. So, what can you say? Here are five principles to get you started: ONE: … Read More
It’s only May, but fall conference season is in full swing….at least it usually is this time of year. The COVID-19 pandemic has created a conundrum for businesses that hold in-person events. While it was clear that spring conferences needed to be rescheduled, canceled or go virtual, it’s too soon to tell what fall may … Read More
Regulators and health professionals worldwide are asking all of us to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Yes, businesses are at risk. But, more importantly, lives are at risk. Business communications and associated operations must reflect that now more than ever. The top three things to remember when you communicate inside and outside your organization are: … Read More
I recently celebrated Succession Communications’ four-year anniversary while on a business trip to New Orleans, and I took some downtime to reflect. It has been a whirlwind four years of growth and change, and the original Succession is almost unrecognizable now. Wonderful clients and partners were crucial to our success, and we are very fortunate … Read More
I read The Washington Post’s Steve Pearlstein’s column on the death of business reporting this past weekend with interest. So much interest, in fact, that I posted a comment on it. And, I’m devoting a blog post to it because he raised a subject that is increasingly misunderstood and requires exploration. Based on Steve’s experiences … Read More
I launched the “Succession Stories” blog series last year to highlight our top professionals in various aspects of communications, and learn how they have navigated a fast-changing industry. Today, we are proud to feature a seasoned and highly astute financial reporter and editor, Jonathan Berke, who I’ve known from our days in the School of … Read More
We all learn on the job. That’s just a fact of life. While college courses in communications help prepare budding PR pros, they learn the arts of juggling tasks and deadlines, of client service, and of navigating office culture…well, at the office. This is where they hone their craft. When I started in PR, fresh … Read More