The itty-bitty IKEA-stuffy-dragging monkey named Punch captured the hearts of internet empaths around the globe. His harrowing journey to reintegrate with a troop of monkeys at a Japanese zoo hit home with TikTok users and went globally viral over the last week. With daily updates on his progress toward making friends, Punch’s journey has gone from run-of-the-mill zoo work to an international day care progress report. But what makes breakout social stars like Punch? And can you aspire to create content that hits like this, or is serendipity the only driver of virality?

PR campaigns require planning – emails, social posts, events and advertisements are set in motion long before they reach consumers. But what happens if something changes between the time content’s developed and messages reach the airwaves? In unfortunate cases, it creates an uncomfortable dissonance that can negatively impact brands. We discuss the importance of balancing planning with real-time adjustments on the pod.

The earliest mention in our work chats of the “Wuthering Heights” promotional circus is dated June 2025. Our collective team has spent months analyzing, discussing and debating the merits of its prolonged promotional cycle – from the beauty and the grandeur to the *interesting* choices made along the way. The long-awaited debut of the newest interpretation of a more than 175-year-old story has come and gone, and we’re going to talk through the merits and shortcomings of an eternally long press cycle.

Grab your skis, we’re heading to Milan! If the team could, they would don their Ralph Lauren official athlete kit and hit the ice, but instead, they’ll take to the mic to talk all things Olympics. In the era of social media, the games are just as much about the breakout performances as they are about the breakout personalities. Who will take to the podium for a gutsy performance in personal branding? Which companies are ripe to quickly capitalize on gold-medal glory? We’ll discuss our front-runners and outline what has worked in past Olympics.

In two decades of learning, you’ll pick up a few tips of the trade along the way. To celebrate 20 years of Obsidian, we talk with three of our team members about some of their most poignant lessons – and no matter your line of work, you can walk away with a few meaningful recommendations.

When weighing out the trending topics for this week’s episode, the winter storm that put more than 185 million people under severe weather advisories was a clear winner. The past week at Obsidian consisted of crafting multi-layered statements that were tweaked, uploaded and reposted, providing consumers with need-to-know information about business operations. We give you a glimpse into the process of making those decisions and how they vary from business to business.

Last week, Verizon had a nationwide outage, sending some business and personal callers into panic mode. While we *kind of* know what caused the outage, we know a few things are true regardless of the source. Taylor and Carlee discuss creating a plan for disconnection, capitalizing on a competitor’s shortcomings and dipping your toes into the crisis waters in this week’s PRactically, a Podcast.

Starting to make plans for your outreach efforts in 2022? Start first by assessing trends and the predicted landscape for the next year. Kelli and Christina talk with Taylor about what they anticipate 2022 will bring while also running through the entire Obsidian team’s insight.

Creating a workplace that prioritizes thanks and support is no small feat, but for more than 15 years, Courtney has done just that at Obsidian. Businesses and professionals looking to take their gratitude to the next level should tune in to hear how you can sow seeds of thanks into your corporate soil.

Burgeoning college athletes, listen up. If you want to capitalize on name, image and likeness deals, you first need to sharpen your communication skills. OPR’s resident sports enthusiast, Murray, joins Taylor on the eve of their two-teams colliding on the gridiron to discuss how athletes can secure (and maintain) the bag on NIL contracts.