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Super Bowl ads 2018: staff opinions

Posted on by Brian Lee

BRIAN:

I really liked the Tide commercials for spoofing other commercials, including other Procter & Gamble products such as Old Spice. In fact, I’ll admit to being tricked. For example, when I saw a Clydesdale at the beginning of a commercial, I thought it was going to be a Budweiser commercial, but it was actually Tide. This goes to show that commercials for various sets of products (e.g. cars, prescription meds) follow a fairly uniform playbook. Because of the negative publicity surrounding Tide Pods, these commercials also did a good job of generating positive feelings toward Tide.

Big thumbs down to T-Mobile (equality) and Dodge Ram (Martin Luther King Jr.) for misappropriating political/social themes into their commercials. Was there no one at these companies (or at their agencies) who thought these commercials would be a bad idea? Continue reading “Super Bowl ads 2018: staff opinions” →

C-Suite Still Undervalues PR

Posted on by Brian Lee

conference roomIf executives in the C-Suite, which often is missing a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and Chief Communications Officer (CC), actually valued PR, companies would:

  • Spend more resources on reputation management. A Deloitte study showed that when your reputation is damaged, there is a corresponding loss of revenue, brand value, customers and/or stock price,
  • Seek the counsel of their communications staff before making any major decision to learn of potential reactions and consequences, and
  • Have a crisis communications plan that’s updated at least yearly.

Instead, you see companies continue to make boneheaded mistakes that make you wonder, what in the world were they thinking?

A recent article titled “Lesson Plan: Business Leaders Still Don’t Understand Strategic Communication” sheds some light. Research conducted by the authors showed that despite the recent introduction of strategic communication coursework to the MBA programs at various universities, the students:

  • Often do not see the strategic dimensions of communication,
  • Often don’t see a clear connection between communication activities and business results, and
  • Have little understanding of the importance of related strategic communication issues, such as corporate social responsibility and internal communications.

For PR practitioners, this means we’re still fighting for a seat at the table, and we may continue to do so for another generation.

Improving Digital Literacy in Hospitals

Posted on by Jaimie Onasch

INTRODUCTION

Digital literacy is essential for communication, collaboration and advocacy in the world of healthcare. Patients are becoming more empowered, turning to the Internet and social media for medical information and using digital devices/apps to take control of their health.

Meanwhile, telemedicine and mHealth are on the rise. Yet, many hospitals are slow to incorporate emerging technologies into their systems, detaching them from the mainstream and potentially limiting the quality of care delivered by their providers.

Implementing proper training for medical staff members can help address gaps in knowledge and equip them with the skills they need to become more digitally literate. In turn, providers can help improve patient understanding of digital health tools and where to find valuable health information available online. Continue reading “Improving Digital Literacy in Hospitals” →