'Barbie' isn't afraid to air Mattel’s previous missteps
Everything marketing and comms pros need to know about Greta Gerwig’s highly-anticipated film. Warning: Light spoilers (and lots of pink) ahead.
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Edelman lays off 4% of workforce
Most of the cuts, which affect 240 staffers, impact senior-level employees.
Twitch competitors seize opportunities amid branded content fallout
The Amazon-owned company’s rivals are attempting to poach streamers away from the platform after controversial policy changes.
Can Linda Yaccarino solve Twitter's brand safety problem?
The media veteran will need to satisfy concerns about content moderation to attract advertisers back to the platform, communications executives say.
How The Wall Street Journal is rallying the media around Evan Gershkovich
Media titans that are often at each other’s throats are pulling together to call for the detained reporter’s release.
Oatly offers free advertising to dairy rivals willing to reveal carbon footprint
The Swedish oat-drink company has added information about its climate impact to products in the U.S.
Oatly created a F*ck Oatly website. Here’s why
For those who dislike the site, there are also F*ck F*ck Oatly and F*ck F*ck F*ck Oatly sites.
Self-inflicted wounds haunt Anheuser-Busch’s Dylan Mulvaney crisis response
Bud Light failed at trying to appease two conflicting audiences, say PR executives.
GLAAD publishes resources to promote inclusive transgender news coverage
The materials coincide with International Transgender Day of Visibility on Friday.
How an ice cream truck is educating SXSW attendees on Big Oil’s fossil fuel greenwashing
Ben & Jerry's and Clean Creatives are behind the campaign.
How 'distrust of corporate marketing' inspires Liquid Death's zany partnerships
A focus on defying expectations has helped the drink company climb the food chain in a crowded industry.
Is Twitter's revised two-factor authentication policy a dealbreaker?
CEO Elon Musk’s latest decision has set the social media platform ablaze again.
How brands are supporting Turkey and Syria after the earthquakes disaster
Kraft Heinz, Starbucks and Boeing are among the organizations that have pledged donations.
Edelman splits with Standard Bank Group
The decision reportedly stems from Edelman’s refusal to work on the East African Crude Oil Pipeline.
Citigroup promotes Jennifer Lowney to global comms head
Her promotion comes amid an expansion of Citi’s global public affairs department.
Nike ups Jarvis Sam to chief DE&I officer
Sam was the company’s VP of global DE&I.
Ketchum names Jim Joseph as global chief marketing, integration officer
The industry veteran is returning to a PR firm from IPG Health.
2023 Edelman Trust Barometer: Business is only institution viewed as ethical, competent
The report also found a substantial decrease in economic optimism.
Unpacking Reddit's escalating API crisis
More than 3,000 subreddits have 'gone dark' as moderators protest Reddit's plans to charge other companies for access to data.
Former Twitter PR agency sues over unpaid bills: Reuters
Joele Frank is one of several parties that have taken legal action against Twitter since Elon Musk took over the social media platform last year.
Twitter has a place in presidential campaigns - just not launching them
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ campaign kickoff on Twitter was a bust for several reasons. But the platform is useful to campaigns in other ways.
New Balance promotes Romina Bongiovanni to oversee international marketing
Bongiovanni has a background in communications with experience at Saatchi & Saatchi and Edelman.
‘Uniquely suited:’ Breaking down Disney’s comms on Bob Iger’s return
Iger, who replaces Bob Chapek, returns to the company after a hiatus.
More than 400 scientists call on Hill+Knowlton to drop fossil-fuel clients
Environmental activist group Clean Creatives and the Union of Concerned Scientists released the letter to the WPP firm this week, ahead of COP27.
‘Brands should run, not walk away:’ Lessons from PR pros on Kanye West crisis
Crisis, legal and sports communications experts weigh in on West’s recent actions, and detail strategies brands can use when celebrity-related issues arise.
Brands must get more practical in facing societal problems: study
WE’s latest Brands in Motion research reveals that consumers are still skeptical about companies' purpose commitments, and they want action on issues such as the cost of living.
Vox Global creates behavioral insights offering
SVP and partner James Baril has been named head of the newly created function.
Spotify’s owned channels see record audience growth in 2022
The audio platform has diversified its editorial channels, in lockstep with earned media, to share content with unique bases.
Twitter splits with consumer PR AOR
Autumn Communications started working with Twitter in September, but the partnership ended this month amid turmoil at the social media company.
Twitter hires Rebecca Hahn as global comms head
Twitter CMO Leslie Berland has been handling the responsibilities on an interim basis.
Everything to know about ‘Uber Files’ massive revelations
A leak of internal documents revealed Uber’s media strategy, efforts to take advantage of driver violence and controversial ‘kill switch.’
Moderna appoints Dxtra Health as global AOR
Staffers from Weber Shandwick, Golin and Jack Health are contributing to the Dxtra team, which is working on corporate communications and promotion of Moderna's mRNA technology.
Interpublic Group names Channing Martin global chief diversity, social impact officer
Martin will lead strategy on all diversity-related matters and expand the company’s equity and inclusion practices.
The first brands begin take stand against leaked US abortion ruling
OkCupid, Ben & Jerry’s, Bumble and Yelp are among the first to respond.
Omnicom strikes group-wide partnership with Firework
The global deal will enable the network’s agencies to help e-commerce clients add video and livestreaming to brand websites that engage shoppers and drive more sales.
Japan Airlines crash: What the major players are saying
Organizations including Airbus are making statements as Japanese authorities investigate the fatal runway crash.
Where does Marvel go from here? No easy fixes after Jonathan Majors found guilty
The entertainment giant had largely stayed quiet on Majors, who was set to carry the studio through its next phase, but now it’s time to face the music.
Accenture appoints Rachel Frey as head of corporate communications
Frey, who had been serving as the interim lead since April, has officially replaced longtime Accenture executive Stacey Jones.
Sam Altman returns to OpenAI: What the players, stakeholders and journalists are saying about it
Following CEO Sam Altman's unexpectedly expected return to the platform yesterday, key parties, investors and tech journalists are chiming in on the unfolding brand saga.
Businesses are no longer trusted on climate change: Edelman report
Edelman’s latest Trust Barometer surveyed 14,000 people across regions including APAC to understand the public’s perception of the climate crisis.
Businesses are no longer trusted on climate change: Edelman report
Edelman’s latest Trust Barometer surveyed 14,000 people across regions including APAC to understand the public’s perception of the climate crisis.
The Trevor Project closes X account amid ‘increasing hate’ toward LGBTQ+ users
The nonprofit is turning to platforms like Instagram and LinkedIn as hate speech runs rampant on the Elon Musk-owned social media platform.
How Dow Jones supported detained WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich on his birthday
The Wall Street Journal reporter marked his 32nd birthday in a Russian prison, where he has been incarcerated for more than six months.
Shell puts global PR up for review
The review, expected to wrap in Q1 2024, comes after holding company Havas faced backlash for winning and accepting Shell’s media business.
Allison PR vows not to work with fossil fuel industry
The Stagwell firm is the largest agency to sign anti-fossil fuel industry group Clean Creatives’ pledge.
Internal communications takes center stage in Google antitrust trial
The U.S. Department of Justice grilled a Google executive on Friday on internal comms policies the government alleges were used to conceal anticompetitive conversations.
Richard Edelman: Dropping DE&I is ‘nonsense’
Edelman pushed back against criticism of diversity programs at this week’s Women of Color Connecting Summit, saying he’s “standing up for DE&I in every client conversation.”
How X responded (again) after Meta’s worldwide outage
The platform formerly known as Twitter reacted playfully after a Meta outage downed major platforms Instagram and Facebook.
Edelman global revenue falls 3.7% to $1.04 billion in 2023
The independent agency’s performance was impacted by a 9.1% decrease in the US, while Asia-Pacific rose by 1.7%, with Korea, India and Singapore all posting gains.
Twitter co-founder's Bluesky Social goes public: What are the benefits and risks for brands?
Intended to be a rival platform to X (formerly Twitter), the Jack Dorsey-funded app is now open to the public, but brands still seem to be taking a wait-and-see approach.
WPP merges BCW and Hill & Knowlton to create Burson
BCW global CEO Corey duBrowa will serve as chief executive of the combined agency, which will be the largest PR firm globally by revenue, according to revenue estimates from PRWeek's latest Agency Business Report.
2024 Edelman Trust Barometer: Business has best chance to reverse widening gap between society, innovation
The world’s largest PR firm surveyed over 32,000 people in 28 countries for its latest annual report, which debuts ahead of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
RIP AOR?
In-house teams are searching for more short-term support, but that’s not all bad news for agencies.
'Connecting all the dots': The rise of corporate affairs in-house and at agencies
It’s an oversimplification to say corporate affairs has absorbed communications. But its rise has benefitted business at large—and agencies in the firm of higher billings.
Employees are being influenced by Gen Z colleagues to reexamine the workplace, study finds
Edelman’s latest Trust Barometer report found that Gen Z is shifting employees' perspectives on work-life boundaries, openness to new technology and self-advocacy.
Edelman names Alex Thompson global corporate affairs, impact chair
The agency has also made significant crisis and health promotions, elevating Julian Payne and Courtney Gray Haupt.