Amtrak’s Crisis PR Is Off The Rails
Days after the deadly Pennsylvania Amtrak crash while investigators are still trying to sort out what happened, the rail line is trying to pick up the PR pieces. The crisis PR has not been good – and that will continue to be an uphill battle. Already tiny factoids are popping up on social media comparing airline travel and rail travel. The main question being asked by investigators is “why did the train speed up when it was supposed to be slowing down.” According to reports, when approaching a curve rated for no faster than 50 mph, the train, which had been traveling at 70 mph, sped up to more than 100 mph. At this point, investigators say they are unclear…
Read MoreMarketability: Winston vs. Mariota
A recent USA Today article compared the two top picks in the 2015 NFL Draft, Marcus Mariota, and Jameis Winston. The comparison was not about on-field skill, however. Ronn Torossian says this head to head matchup is even more important to the business of football. That comparison? Marketability or, to put it more bluntly, which QB can bring more cash to the organization and himself by way of sponsorships and merchandise sales. With untold hundreds of millions on the line, this is a vital PR consideration. And, even with the draft over, this aspect of the quarterback competition is still a raging debate. In order to gain some semblance of the upper hand in this debate, prognosticators use something called…
Read MorePope Working on Vatican Bank PR
When you think about public relations in the banking industry, you might think of patriotic commercials, earnest-looking tellers and clean-cut guys in pinstripes waiting to “earn your business.” But, would you expect any of those folks to wear the robes and crown of the Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church? Probably not. Well, Ronn Torossian says, think again because the Pope is now in the game of banking PR. Recently, Pope Francis gathered with a host of cardinals to discuss the financial health of the Holy See. There were—flowcharts, spreadsheets, graphs and PowerPoint presentations. PowerPoint in the Vatican? Yep. Congrats Microsoft, you have papal approval. While it’s really no secret that Vatican finances have been growing through a rough…
Read MoreSainsbury Chief Headed to Jail
Things just went from bad to much, much worse for Mike Coupe, head of British supermarket chain, Sainsbury’s. Coupe was just handed a two-year jail sentence in Egyptian courts for “attempting to seize checks from Egyptian businesses sixteen years ago. At the time, Sainsbury’s was trying to break into the region. According to reports, Egyptian courts said they convicted Coupe because he is the most senior employee of the company. When Coupe chose to skip the trial, he was convicted in absentia. The conviction won’t mean much as long as Coupe steers clear of Egypt, but, even still, the conviction is a prime example of how unfair both legal and public relations issues can become. Unfair? Yes, definitely. How else…
Read MoreWill Facebook’s Focus Shift to Mobile Ads?
Has the whole world gone mobile? Apparently. Fresh off its app split – remember all the controversy over the FB messenger app? – Facebook has announced a move toward more mobile advertising. The move comes on the heels of less than stellar first quarter revenues. When Wall Street hemmed and hawed, the folks at Facebook decided to look at a fairly bright silver lining. User engagement and mobile ad revenue were both up, indicators that user habits are shifting…and so is the profit center. How skewed is that shift? Well, according to reports, mobile accounted for about 87% of Facebook’s active user base. That’s up 24% over the same time last year. More people going mobile? A lot more apparently.…
Read MorePlayoff Time For The NHL
It’s playoff time for professional hockey, and NHL officials are hoping for some major ratings. Despite the fast pace, interesting personalities, and cool culture, hockey still lags behind several other sports in the hearts and minds – and wallets – of many Americans. While the NFL and MLB fight for the top spots in sports marketing, the NHL, and the NBA both want to be number three. And both have been rocked by lockouts, work stoppages, and other issues in recent years. Back in 2012 the NHL experienced a work stoppage – it’s fourth in 20 years – based on how to split the approximately $3.3 billion in revenue. Since then hockey has tried to bounce back, but it faces…
Read MoreMicrosoft at 40 – Where will the Brand go from Here?
A recent report by CNN released an email sent by none other than the godfather of the computing age – Bill Gates. Apparently, the Microsoft co-founder sent the email as a way to connect with Microsoft employees and celebrate four decades of changing the world, one computer at a time, since 1975. According to CNN, here’s what the email said: “Early on, Paul Allen and I see the goal of a computer on every desk and in every home. It was a bold idea, and a lot of people thought we were out of our minds to imagine it was possible. It is amazing to think about how far computing has come since then, and we can all be proud…
Read MoreTarget Rebounds After Breach
These days it seems like news of major retailer data breaches has become weekly events. But even the frequency of these breaches does little to calm the public outrage when they happen. Surviving to re-engage and thrive after a breach is a tough hill to climb, and no company seems to have managed that obstacle better than Target. Back in 2013 Target experienced a massive data breach, compromising the credit card records of a huge number of customers. Business, as expected, took a serious hit. Sales stalled as customers began opting for cash – or not shopping at Target. Since then, Target and new CEO Brian Cornell have been working hard to bring the business back from the brink. According…
Read MoreMaserati Takes Aim at Porsche
When it comes to high-performance coupes, both Porsche and Jaguar have legions of loving and dedicated fans. But now, according to Ronn Torossian, there’s a new player on the scene that should create a rather interesting automotive love triangle. Maserati recently introduced the Alfieri coupe, a 2016 model that seems clearly aimed at stealing market share from Porsche’s vaunted 911 and Jag’s adored F-Type. When Maserati presented a version of the Alfieri at the recent Geneva Motor Show, high-performance car fans ignited. Some of the reasons to love the Alfieri include 404 horsepower right out of the gate, with options that can crank that power up to either 444 or an asphalt boiling 510. Fortunately, the standard all-wheel drive will allow…
Read MoreAOL Founder: Now is the ‘Pivotal Point’ of the Internet
Speaking to a crowd of thousands of tech junkies and industry entrepreneurs at the annual South By Southwest (SXSW) music, film and interactive technology festival, keynote speaker and former AOL CEO Steve Case stated that the world is at a “pivotal point” of the internet as the Web enters its third wave. The first wave, of which Case’s AOL was at the forefront, ran from 1985 through 2000 or so and consisted of the internet’s rise in popular culture from a closed-off network used by governments and educators to a utility-like commodity billions depend on every day. When the internet hit its second wave around the turn of the millennium, large companies such as Google, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter and eBay…
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