Alessandra Mazzei
How the pandemic is revealing the indispensable value of employee communication
An Italian study shows that communicators are poised to assume greater roles and responsibilities moving forward.
COVID-19
Beki Winchel
Hormel buys Planters for $3.35B, Facebook working on Clubhouse clone, and Lucasfilm drops Gina Carano
Also: NAACP encourages organizations to extend Black history past February, McDonald’s brings back a fan favorite, most leaders don’t contribute to a positive work environment, and more.
Ted Kitterman
Robinhood faces lawsuit over customer comms, how Americans are using social media, and South Africa reacts to bad vaccine news
Also: Offering incentives to employees for vaccinations, Cyberpunk 2077 maker announces cyberattack, what PR pros thought about this year’s Super Bowl ads, and other crucial stories.
Ted Kitterman
GM takes flak for flip flop; Amazon faces union vote, and Telegram rockets to the top in downloads
Also: Reddit makes waves with five-second ad, Sprinklr shares brands that stood out on social, vaccine rollout stumbles on tech mistakes, and more.
Beki Winchel
Tokyo Olympics’ president apologizes for sexist remarks, CMT, others cut ties with Morgan Wallen, and Merck’s chief to step down
Also: American and United Airlines warn employees of upcoming furloughs, 37% of online shoppers visit retailers’ websites before purchasing, and more.
Beki Winchel
Jeff Bezos steps down as Amazon’s CEO, Ulta pledges to double Black-owned brands on shelves, and Lowe’s offers Valentine’s ‘night of Lowemance’
Also: Mountain Dew’s interactive Super Bowl campaign, 7-Eleven offers a one-of-a-kind Airbnb stay, almost 90% of marketers have or are building an app, and more.
Beki Winchel
Brand managers celebrate Groundhog Day, Verizon commits $10M to helping small businesses, and JetBlue highlights Black florists
Also: How PR pros are crafting more of their pitches to include DE&I angles, what skills you’re focusing on for 2021, and more.
Beki Winchel
Walmart and Kroger announce DE&I donations, UK’s health care org pulls ‘sexist’ COVID-19 ad, and Planters to donate $5M to ‘acts of substance’
Also: Spotify, HBO Max and more launch content for Black History Month, Hendrick’s Gin offers a ‘moonbathing’ kit, ESG communications considerations, and more.
Beki Winchel
Discord and Reddit grapple with ‘WallStreetBets’ communities, Activision Blizzard defends DE&I hiring initiatives, and Twitter rebrands to embrace ‘real’ conversations
Also: Communciators’ most hated corporate jargon, the future of streaming services, Target and other retailers cut ties with coconut milk supplier, and more.
Ragan Insider Ted Kitterman
6 takeaways from the crises of 2020
What are the big lessons that comms pros should take from the past year? We break down the top tips from industry leaders.
Beki Winchel
Belk, Cici’s and L’Occitane file for bankruptcy, Target offers employees $500 bonuses, and 72% of comms pros say social media helps other media efforts
Also: Samuel Adams’ tongue-in-cheek Super Bowl ad, YouTube extends ban on Trump and cuts off Guliani’s ad revenue, Air Asia updates cancelation policy, and more.
Beki Winchel
Disney Parks overhauls ‘Jungle Cruise’ to be more inclusive, Citigroup seeks to educate golfer Justin Thomas after LGBTQ slur, and Instagram launches business hub
Also: What top brands on Twitter are doing to best serve consumers, Google rolls out tools to promote COVID-19 vaccine information, Godiva to close all North America locations, and more.
Beki Winchel
Budweiser donates Super Bowl ad to COVID-19 campaign, ‘Star Wars’ denounces racism on Twitter, and Pinterest launches ‘try on’ feature
Also: Social media image guidelines for 2021, PepsiCo’s clever response to President Joe Biden, how Orlando International Airport engages on Twitter, and more.
Ted Kitterman
What Facebook has learned about leading and engaging remote workers
A Facebook leader shares insights, both from her own company and from others who use the Workplace from Facebook platform, on reaching hybrid, dispersed teams.
Beki Winchel
Brand managers celebrate Inauguration Day, Unilever launches sweeping DE&I commitments, and Netflix tests a ‘shuffle’ feature
Also: Data-backed digital marketing trends for 2021, TikTok previews a Q&A tool, Pillsbury and Oreo team up on a new product line, and more.
