The PR success stories of 2019

What are the PR tactics that worked in 2019?

Many organizations embraced their role in the cultural conversation, whether it was speaking out on gun violence and gun regulation or talking about taking steps to fight climate change. Others leaned into fights with competitors to stoke a healthy rivalry and drive online traffic.

Despite the many missteps that hurt brands in the past year, many stories were uplifting.

Here are a few winners:

The move sparked a backlash when it launched this year, but Nike’s response has earned the respect of some communications experts.

Beck Bamberger, founder of Bam Communications, notes that Nike didn’t let the noise alter how it delivered its message.

“The approach that they took was gracious and one that stuck to their guns,” she says. “They didn’t retract. They didn’t react.”

She added that the company was wise not to play the rollout as a PR stunt to grab headlines—a move that would smelled of inauthentic grandstanding.

“There was a clear continuation of the path that they were on,” she says. “Their original plus size started two year ago. For them it was just a continuation of their strategy and what they believe, and it wasn’t going to be a big blowup. It wasn’t going to be a big stunt.”