February 23, 2023
In this week's edition you will NOT find stories on Microsoft's AI chatbot and its wildly entertaining / disturbing outputs. I'm sure a quick web search will satisfy your curiosity. In the meantime...
Brands, please stop saying 'sustainability is in our DNA' - "It's time for corporates to stop using the same meaningless catchphrase – or risk alienating consumers." If nothing else, this is a good reminder 'not to tell people you're funny. Tell them a joke.' (Eco-business.com)
You should post your best social content again and again - I agree (Future Social)
Leaked files reveal reputation-management firm’s deceptive tactics (Washington Post)
If purpose is our only purpose, Cannes Lions has no purpose - “Brand purpose campaigns will again sweep the Cannes Lions this year, and when they win, we all lose.” (PRWeek)
Airbnb’s earnings surge following ‘incredibly effective’ shift in marketing spend - “The travel accommodation business first announced it would be making a permanent cut to its overall marketing investment in February 2021, having noted that slashing spend during Covid had little impact on traffic. The cut meant shifting investment away from performance marketing and SEO into brand and PR.” (MarketingWeek)
What role should Corporate America play in an increasingly challenging political environment? In a recent survey of US corporations, "about 30 percent of respondents say business should take a leadership role in improving the political environment; about 30 percent say it should provide a supporting role; about 30 percent say it should play a minimal role; and just 7 percent say business should not participate at all, and instead focus exclusively on its own interests." (AgilityPR)
Interview: Embattled Activision Blizzard plans to be more outspoken - "Meservey acknowledges there are company employees who have questioned the kind of place they work at and says her approach to open communications is intended to help restore trust." (Axios)
What is generative AI? - A useful and easy to read explainer on the technologies that are becoming increasingly important to our business (McKinsey)
Generative AI Can Help You Tailor Messaging to Specific Audiences - Intriguing albeit disturbing. (HBR)
I Paid a Professional to Edit a ChatGPT-Written Article — Hilarity Ensued
“The results were not pretty, but very funny.” (Zulie Rane)
Oscars adds crisis communications team to 2023 show following Will Smith slap - “‘Because of last year, we’ve opened our minds to the many things that can happen at the Oscars,’ the Academy CEO said” (Independent)
American Views 2022: Trust, Media and Democracy - Among the plethora of interesting findings in the Knight Foundation's most recent research, the focus this year on expanding understanding of the emotional factors that drive attitudes about the news is particularly insightful. (Knight Foundation / Gallup)
And finally, the most popular link from last week was The PR Power of Fessing Up by MIT Sloan.