Are consumers spending again? What are they thinking about? What trends do you most need to know about as you’re framing communications strategies for consumer-facing brands? In a volatile marketplace, it’s more vital than ever to aggressively track consumer sentiment and behavior and translate that into fresh, effective marketing approaches. To get you started, we…

Why would a PR company buy an ad agency? Isn’t that backwards? This is a question I’ve been asked a lot in the weeks since my firm, APCO Worldwide, announced it had purchased a majority share in creative powerhouse StrawberryFrog. StrawberryFrog is a great agency with innovative leaders, a winning philosophy, iconic clients and a…

With the red carpets for this year’s Academy Awards unrolling as we speak, we were wondering: Is the A-list still as valuable as it once was to a brand in our age of social media? Are brands missing out if they’re not visible at an event like the Academy Awards? And how do we measure…

Facebook’s coming IPO has shone a spotlight on the financial upside of social media, but it’s important to keep in mind how much potential social platforms hold for serving the public good. Social media is helping advance the mission of non-profit organizations across a broad range of issues.  In fact, nonprofits account for some of…

The other day, while waiting for my plane to board, I was treated to a throaty remake of the Beatles classic “Penny Lane” running over the airport PA system. Didn’t catch the artist, but didn’t need to: The re-make, of very recent vintage, was decent, but it didn’t ring half as true to my forty-something…

The Super Bowl is a national sporting holiday, the marquee event of the NFL season, and marketing’s greatest day of the year. But does the Super Bowl really deliver for brands? We strongly believe it does, especially as far as public relations is concerned. If you consider the broader American sports landscape, the NFL remains…

As we reported last week, headcounts are up at our member firms, revenues are higher, new business pipeline are stronger, and firms are innovating new practice offerings. All that growth is exciting, but it can also pose challenges. As one business author has noted, medium-sized businesses that catch fire enter a kind of “no man’s…

The Council just completed its Q4 survey of public relations firms, and the results are hot enough to warm even the chilliest January board meeting. First thing’s first: A full 70% of firms report that final 2011 revenues will be higher than in 2010. Only 13% anticipate lower revenues. In the context of a still-uncertain…

Political communications often carries intriguing lessons for the corporate sphere, and this season’s Republican presidential contest is no exception. In recent months, we’ve watched as a front-runner, Mitt Romney, has faced challenge after challenge from upstart contenders. Although Romney remains on top heading into South Carolina, he has so far failed to gain more than…

Now that we’re back from the holidays and possibly planning time off for the year to come, it’s worth asking: Were your recent days away a true creative vacation? Common sense tells us that vacations provide a chance to clear our heads and refresh so that we can become more productive upon our return. Yet…