Monthly Archives: October 2023

Attracting the Leaf Peepers: Tapping into PR to Leverage a Seasonal Rush

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In today’s modern world driven by the 24-hour news cycle, social media buzz and influencers, organizations are constantly seeking ways to stand out and attract their target audiences. One powerful tool at their disposal is public relations (PR). However, PR is not just about creating buzz; it’s about utilizing an organization’s existing assets to build a stronger connection with its audiences and playing to your busy season.

This fall, we’ll look at fall foliage capital New England, its tourism bureaus, businesses and nonprofits. New England, with its historical sites and natural beauty, has learned to take advantage of its “it” season, autumn, to attract visitors and boost the region’s economy.

Leaves and Legacy

Renowned for its picturesque autumn foliage, New England attracts tourists and outdoor enthusiasts from around the world, aptly dubbed “leaf peepers,” by locals. Tourists chase the vibrant views up the coastline, swarming the northern states of Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Maine for a chance to snap a picture of the seasons changing. As they flood the northern states, opportunity awaits local businesses and nonprofits as they vie for the attention of paying customers to shop at local boutiques, stay in local hotels and dine in the region’s countless restaurants.

Some sites, such as Plymouth Rock, the Mark Twain House, the Paul Revere House and more draw millions of visitors year-round. Massachusetts and New England tourism groups leverage this reality each year to entice visitors to the area. For instance, one organization, Historic New England, is utilizing tourists’ interest in history to expand their profile. Through local news stories, the group is promoting its growing collection of some 125,000 historical objects in a sprawling cultural center around its headquarters in Haverhill, Massachusetts in the hopes that visitors will take advantage of the opportunity to see so much history in one spot.

Historic New England is not the only group utilizing PR and interest from tourists to boost their profile. Salem, Massachusetts, perhaps best known for its 1692 witch trials, is known to draw upwards of 1 million visitors each October. The town does not miss out on the opportunity to boast about their offerings. Every October, town leaders and their communications teams work to ensure they are included on lists featuring top spots to visit while leaf peeping in New England

Whether year round or seasonal, the historical destinations of New England have leaned into their natural appeal and the power of communications to make the most of their “most wonderful time of the year.”

Raking in the Customers

For those looking to leverage communication to make the most of their selling season, a good public relations strategy can complement promotional efforts to elevate your brand before this captive audience. Consider these tips:

  • Step up your social media efforts: A robust social media presence is critical to amplify your message during your “it” season. Business owners should ensure social channels are prominently promoted and accessible through their websites as well. By leaning into the inherent assets of the organization – a colorful personality in leadership, convenient or scenic location, practical benefits of their products or services – organizations can create a genuine connection with followers and build a reliable customer base beyond what existed before.
  • Get to know local media: Reaching out to local media when there is news that is of interest to the public is always a smart move. Businesses and non-profits must be careful, however, to avoid blatant self-promotional outreach to journalists. Offering sales or other obviously self-promoting information to the news media can have the opposite intended effect, damaging the organization’s reputation in the media and potentially black-listing it from future coverage.
  • Think outside of the box: Consider expanding your audience while the time is right. For example, while New England business’ primary consumers this fall may be folks on leisure excursions, tourism hot spots and hotels may want to consider reaching out to business and meeting publications to share the message of New England as a corporate travel destination if appropriate. Also, while traditional PR can be a powerful tool in cultivating an unbiased image of your destination or business, marketing promotions and sponsored content can complement those efforts helping business owners to capture an even larger audience.

In a world where organizations vie for attention and consumer loyalty, New England’s approach to soaking up the fall season serves as a powerful example. Know your organization’s time to shine and be ready to make the most of it with the right communication tools.

Trick or Treat: Recent Brand Wins and Fails

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In the spirit of the Halloween season, we thought we would take a look at some tricks and treats in corporate communication efforts from the past several months that have made headlines. From widespread crises to clever spooky-time initiatives, brands and organizations around the world are experiencing tricks and treats impacting their brand.

Getting Tricky

Shein,a Chinese clothing company known for fast fashion, made headlines recently when they invited a group of influencers for an inside look at their factories. This trip came after several journalistic investigations last year revealed unsavory business practices including violations of labor laws and an environmentally unsustainable business model. The idea behind the trip was to have a positive image of the company presented by trusted influencers.

Unfortunately for Shein, this attempt to reclaim their brand image was not well received by the public since influencers only toured and commented on the company’s innovation center rather than multiple locations. Some accused influencers of taking part in a “propaganda stunt” as they shared reports with followers of clean factories and happy workers. After the backlash, some influencers ended their relationships with the company.

Shein’s experience is a key lesson in transparency and influencer marketing. While influencers are trusted by the public, they are not a surefire marketing tool and can present new risk exposure. A better approach from a communication perspective would have been for Shein to have a more honest and open conversation with the influencers, talk about prior news reports of poor conditions, point out discrepancies and note changes that were made to improve the work environment for employees.

In other news, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently pushed for a recall of about 52 million vehicles made with parts by a supplier, ARC Automotive, due to defective air bag inflators. General Motors (GM) manufactured approximately 20 million of those vehicles and recalled nearly one million in May for the same reason. The potential recall comes just two weeks after members of the United Auto Workers began to strike. GM made a statement in response to the NHTSA saying, they “believe the evidence and data presented by NHTSA at this time does not provide a basis for any recall,” per CNBC. “If GM concludes at any time that any unrecalled ARC inflators are unsafe, the company will take appropriate action in cooperation with NHTSA.”

GM has an obligation in the scenario to communicate a message regarding public safety. While vehicle manufacturers have come a long way in terms of safety standards over the last several decades, and the court of public opinion requires they tread carefully. Although GM’s concerns with the data presented could be valid, they could be seen as failing to prioritize customer safety. A good communicator will always encourage leadership to message with a sense of humanity, considering all sides of a situation and would have encouraged any messaging to include customer safety at the top.

Time for a Treat

It can be hard to gauge just how much candy to buy in preparation for trick or treaters.This year, Mars, the manufacturer of M&M’s, teamed up with delivery service GoPuff to create the M&M’s Halloween Rescue Squad. On Halloween after 3 p.m. ET, consumers can visit the M&M’s website to order free M&M’s in all locations GoPuff serves.

As one of the most popular candies in the U.S., M&M’s is taking a smart step to reinforce a positive brand image. Earlier this year, M&M’s was caught up in public controversy when they made changes to their “spokes candies” to remove gender norms from the characters. The controversy was thought to ignite a culture war that garnered the attention of national news outlets, political commentators and more. Less than a year later, the Halloween Rescue Squad is a way for media and the public to engage with M&M’s in a more positive, timely way.

Good communications can be a treat – or win – for your company, elevating your brand and bringing new customers to your door. But beware the trick of an ill-considered communications strategy. Partner with a public relations team who understands your business, your needs and can see the big picture.

Behind the Picket Lines: Communicating in Times of Employee Discord

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Years ago, autumn was not just about pumpkin spice, leaf peeping, back to school and football. It was also celebrated as the end of summer’s re-runs with a new line-up of fresh television shows released each September. While those days are long gone with the advent of streaming platforms, this year looked a bit different. We were back to reruns.

The Writers Guild of America was on strike for more than five months, forcing a rapid halt to the production of new content for Hollywood. Then, its resolution in late September was followed with a strike by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, who have been behind the picket lines for more than 100 days now. Both unions were and are respectively pushing for long-term pay, control over artificial intelligence and employment consistency.

And it is not just Hollywood on strike these days. Roughly 46,000 workers with the United Auto Workers union in Kentucky, Michigan and Texas found themselves behind picket lines this fall demanding improved wages and benefits.

These strikes, coupled with employee push back on employer demands for a return to office point to the fact that today’s employees have a bigger voice, and their actions are forcing employers to listen. From a communications perspective, unhappy or disgruntled employees who take their complaints public can lead to a brand reputation problem. Fortunately, a smart, proactive plan for internal and external company communications can help diffuse situations and paint your company in the best light.

Best Practices for Communicating Amid Employee Issues

While a strike, social media backlash to a corporate return-to-work mandate, or round of layoffs may burden and inconvenience leadership with staffing shortages, overtime pay and/or mounting legal fees, the reputational damage could be the most destructive –  particularly if the press gets wind of it.

One of the best ways to get ahead of reputational issues related to employee discord is to work with a public relations team to build a comprehensive plan for internal and external communications. This way, leadership is better prepared and will have direction on how to maintain good communication with employees, vendors, stakeholders and the community. Among other best practices, leadership should consider the following in a time of employee discord:

  • Keep an open dialogue with employees.

Employees want to feel heard. With many employer return-to-work mandates, employees did not feel their needs were being considered.

Many employees like the cost savings and flexibility of remote work and feel they are more productive as a result. Employers who feel strongly about employees returning to work should communicate with employees rather than simply mandating a change. They should make the case for employees as to why a return to the office is necessary and even consider acknowledging the sacrifice employees made to work from home during the pandemic. After having that dialogue, leadership might determine that offering an incentive to bring employees back or a hybrid option could help maintain or improve employee morale and prevent discord.

  • Control emotions and cool tempers.

Communications between the U.A.W. and auto manufacturing plants have become heated with Stellantis issuing a press release that began with the fighting words, “we are outraged.”

Aside from pride, big dollars are at stake, causing emotions and tempers to run hot. But a good public relations professional can help a leadership team craft messaging that carries a human element and reflects a more considered approach. A public relations team would caution executives from letting anger show through, particularly in negotiation-related communications.

  • Keep your media team updated with all developments to avoid surprises.

Whether it is a salacious email leak connected to a member of the leadership team or a negative social media post gaining momentum, it is critical to keep your public relations team updated regarding developments during a time of employee discord.

You never know what will erupt into headlines and damage the reputation of your company. If your public relations team is made aware of the situation with time to spare, they can proactively prepare a plan and smart messaging to try to prevent a situation from spiraling out of control.

While a good public relations team may not be able to do anything about the employee discord forcing reruns upon us this fall, they can help company leadership better communicate – and recognize the value of open and frequent dialogue. Hopefully, we will see these workers and executives come to common ground soon, but until then, let us encourage a focus on good communication.

From Love Story to Bad Blood: The Pros and Cons of Influencer Campaigns in Public Relations

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Influencer marketing can be a powerful tool for brands and public relations professionals looking to boost their reach and credibility. According to Influencer Marketing Hub, the influencer industry is set to grow to approximately $21.1 billion in 2023. However, despite many success stories, there are downsides. For example, according to Truelist, 63% of marketers and brands have been victims of influencer fraud. In addition, fake followers remain a top concern for 50% of marketers.

Perhaps no one understands the Jump Then Fall of the influencer world better than Taylor Swift. With more than 250 million followers on Instagram and more than 90 million followers on X (formerly Twitter), Swift can surely add the title “influencer” to her long list of accolades. Her recent relationship with Kansas City Chiefs’ Tight End, Travis Kelce, and her subsequent ties to the team serves as an outstanding example of both the pros and cons of utilizing influencers.

The Power of Influencer Campaigns

Influencer campaigns can be a dynamic component of public relations strategies, extending a brand’s message to a wider audience and enhancing credibility through association. While there is currently no formal influencer relationship between Swift and the Chiefs outside of her romantic relationship with Kelce, the team and the National Football League (NFL) are benefitting from the Invisible String that ties them together.

Wide Audience Reach: Swift’s immense popularity and influential status make her an ideal choice for brands looking to reach a diverse and massive audience. For instance, since her first appearance at a Chief’s game there has been a nearly 400% increase in Travis Kelce jersey sales. Brands who partner with certain influencers that connect with their audience and have a wide reach are sure to see similar results in their bottom line.

Authenticity and Trust: One of the primary reasons influencer marketing works is because it leverages the trust influencers have built with their followers. According to Marketing Dive, 69% of consumers trust influencers, then friends and then family before information from a brand.

Targeted Marketing: Since the first rumors of their relationship were released, interest in Travis Kelce has gone up by 25% and his favorability has gone up by 10%. Based on the many social media posts, a large portion of Kelce’s new fans are “Swifties,” otherwise known as Swift’s biggest fans. This is significant for both the Chiefs and for Kelce’s sponsors as 45% of these individuals are millennials and 52% are female. This is in contrast to the NFL’s typical fan, as 70% of the NFL’s fanbase is male and 65% are aged 25-39.

The Challenges of Influencer Campaigns

Despite the undeniable advantages, influencer campaigns come with challenges. Swift’s history with both the media and the public showcase just how quickly the tides can change.

High Costs: Hiring a superstar such as Swift, or even someone on a much smaller scale can be costly. While the average cost to hire a nano-influencer (1,000-10,000 followers) is only $10 to $100 per post, that cost can soar to $5,000 to $10,000 per post for macro-influencers (500,000-1 million followers), and organizations are paying the cost. In fact, 23% of respondents to Influencer Marketing Hub’s survey stated they plan to spend more than 40% of their budget on influencers this year, potentially taking vital resources away from other marketing efforts.

Loss of Control: When collaborating with influencers, brands must relinquish some control over their messaging. This can be risky if an influencer’s actions or statements do not align with the brand’s values or objectives.

Saturation and Authenticity Concerns: In the case of Swift’s relationship with Kelce and the NFL, many fans appear irritated, saying the NFL and the Chiefs are going overboard with mentions of Swift. Kelce seems to agree, saying, “They’re overdoing it a little bit, especially my situation.”

Influencer campaigns are valuable tools, offering a range of benefits such as broad reach, authenticity and targeted marketing. Nevertheless, they come with challenges like high costs, loss of control and concerns about authenticity. By carefully weighing the pros and cons and tailoring influencer campaigns to fit specific needs and circumstances, PR professionals and brands can leverage this powerful tool to enhance their public image and reach new audiences.