PR Nation

We launch our COVID Case Study series with a conversation about one of many mask campaigns now playing across the United States. The most recent public health models predict 300,000 Americans will die from the virus by the end of the year – if people don’t start wearing masks. The same models say 70,000 of those lives could be saved if everyone would mask up. 

Sarah kicks off our look at PR pros’ efforts to communicate to audiences during the pandemic, discussing Philadelphia’s mask campaign with James Garrow, Director of Communications at Philadelphia’s Department of Public Health.

Also, Summer hunts for a cool airbnb retreat, Robert talks about an edgy mask campaign in Michigan, and Sarah defends fanny packs.

Links:

AP-NORC Poll: 3 in 4 Americans back requiring face masks

Gallup Poll: Americans Face Mask Usage

Guest: James Garrow

#MaskUpPHL 

Philadelphia Department of Public Health COVID-19 Information

Wear the Damn Mask

The pandemic has left millions of Americans looking for a job. PR people are among them. If you’ve been furloughed, fired, or had your internship cancelled, recruiter Jamie McLaughlin, an expert in connecting companies with top PR talent, may be able to help you fine-tune your job search. He talks with Robert this week about the state of the PR job market in the COVID-19 economy.

Also, Sarah’s grandparents have a kiddie pool, Robert gets hair care advice, and Summer considers a puzzle side hustle.

Links:

O’Dwyer ‘s PR Newsletter

Guest: Jamie McLaughlin

Guest: Jenna DePellegrini

Adults use kiddie pools as quarantine meets L.A. heat

What’s the proper way to use a conditioner?

Jigsaw puzzles see surge in popularity during pandemic

PRSA Job Center

IABC Job Center

Just because you have a powerful camera built into your smartphone doesn’t mean it's easy to create content that people will want to watch. The smartphone has revolutionized videomaking. With a little instruction and practice, you can use it to transform the videos in your communications program.

This week, Robert talks with Glen Mulcahy, the founder of Titanium Media and managing director of Mojofest Ltd. Glen is the world’s leading expert on shooting video using the phone in your pocket. He teaches us how to shoot amazing videos for your next PR campaign.

Also, the crew discusses Glen’s whiskey bottle hack, while Adam Dvorin takes his chances in the AP Stylebook Showdown.

Links:

O’Dwyer ‘s PR Newsletter

Guest: Glen Mulcahy

Guest: Adam Dvorin

Whiskey Bottle Camera Stand

LumaFusion 

KineMaster

Deity V.Lav

ThingLink

Mobile Journalism Manual

LumeCube

FiLMiC Pro

It’s hard to imagine any brand with a logo showing a slave woman on its food products, but the Aunt Jemima imagery has been appearing on its breakfast packaging for more than one hundred years.

Now, Aunt Jemima is finally being retired, along with several other black representations of cooks and servants on famous food brands. But it took weeks of nationwide protest marches to spur marketers to reflect on their branding choices.

How is it these racial stereotypes have survived this long? And what should brands do to make sure future creative work sells products without offending customers?

The questions are relevant to everyone working in communications. For the answers, Robert connects with RIESTER’s Chief Creative Officer, Tom Ortega, for his take on the changes and what we can expect from brands going forward.

Also, a good friend joins the podcast to play the AP Stylebook Showdown today, while Robert explains why there’s no tournament. And Sarah plugs her favorite brew!

Links:

Aunt Jemima Brand to Change Name and Image Over ‘Racial Stereotype’

Disney Rebranding Splash Mountain ride to ‘Princess and the Frog’

Snapchat apologizes for Juneteenth filter

Trump is headlining fireworks at Mount Rushmore

Guest: Tom Ortega

Guest: Jessica Cahill

Sign Up for O’Dwyer’s PR Newsletter

Activists are all over the news these days. But how are they organizing? What PR tactics are they using to communicate their positions and drive lasting policy change?

The University of Southern California’s Annenberg Center for Public Relations is out with its 2020 Global Communication Report exploring the ways activists use PR to amplify their voice on social causes.

Robert discusses the results with Center Director Fred Cook. Also, the crew talks about games they might play while professional teams sit out the pandemic. And Sarah offers a hot take on a tailgating favorite – cornhole.

Links:

O’Dwyer ‘s PR Newsletter

Cornhole

Quoits

Guest: Fred Cook

New Activism: 2020 Global Communication Report

Do you like giving media interviews? Are you good at it? Some people loathe talking to reporters on the record. Others can’t get enough airtime. But does experience make you better? And even if you are good at it, could media training help? Rich Dubek is a journalist and media trainer in Phoenix. Robert gets his answers to these questions, and Rich’s advice if you’re in the market for someone to train your organization’s executives.

Also, with hair salons opening in the Washington D.C. area this weekend, the gang talks about hair and whether there’s a pandemic-inspired ponytail in Robert’s future. And Sarah endures another round of the AP Stylebook quiz. Did she get all the questions right this time?

Links:

O’Dwyer’s PR Newsletter

Guest: Rich Dubek

Do You Need Media Training? Yes. Here are 11 Guidelines

Celebrities Do Their Own Haircuts

Pandemic or not, hair doesn’t stop growing

AP Stylebook

May flowers aren’t the only thing that we look forward to this time of year. It’s also when the Associated Press announces all of its changes to the AP Stylebook. We love the AP Stylebook and look forward to a fresh copy arriving in our mailbox every spring. Robert explores all of the 2020 revisions in a conversation with the internet’s Grammar Geek, Dave Nelsen. Also, the crew gives the pandemic a shove, and just when she thought classes were over for the semester, Sarah takes a PR Nation pop quiz. 

Links:

Guest: Dave Nelsen “The Grammar Geek”

The Grammar Geek

2020 AP Stylebook changes: Person-first language, and the great ‘pled’ debate

AP Stylebook

ACES: The American Copy Editors Society

Grammarian Funeral Comic Strip

In an early celebration of Mother’s Day, PR Nation’s #CommsMoms discuss the importance of communicating with niche audiences.  Summer talks with social media’s Comms Mom and PR Nation contributor, Dr. Amanda Holdsworth, about reaching niche audiences, like moms in PR. From mommy bloggers to parent influencers, it’s possible to reach any audience, especially if your message is developed with them in mind. 

The PR Nation crew talks PR work from home and John O’Dwyer delivers the latest PR news headlines as reported by the O’Dwyer’s PR newsroom in New York City. 

Links:

Contributor: Dr. Amanda Holdsworth

The Comms Mom

O’Dwyer’s PR Newsletter

Earth Day celebrates its 50th anniversary tomorrow, but COVID-19 almost ruined the occasion. Thousands of events around the world had to be moved online or postponed until later in the year due to the pandemic. Robert talks with the communicator leading the switch from tree plantings and activist gatherings to text messages and online commemorations. Nick Nuttall, Strategic Communications Director for the Earth Day Network, explains what he and others in the network had to do to save Earth Day from the novel coronavirus. Also, Robert answers a burning question still lingering from last Friday’s episode.

Links:

Guest: Nick Nuttall

EarthDay.org

There was a time when PR pros were nervous pitching stories about pot to media outlets. But Shawna Seldon McGregor says things have changed – for the better. Shawna talks marijuana PR with Robert just in time for 4/20 – pot’s high holiday! Also, Robert celebrates the moment by singing a line from a Colorado classic. Sarah makes her debut from her walk-in closet/studio at home in Pennsylvania, and both Summer and Sarah refuse to answer cannabis questions.

Links:

O’Dwyer’s PR Newsletter

Guest: Shawna Seldon McGregor

Bill Clinton: I did not inhale

High Times

Green Entrepreneur

Virtual 420 Party