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Public Relations: On the Front Lines of Battling False Information

public relationsAs the antenna, conscience, and voice of the organization, the public relations profession is on the front lines of identifying and dealing with information warfare.  While several business and communication disciplines — including public relations — help build and drive brands, reputation, and sales, public relations stands alone in the broader effort of building mutually beneficial relationships, connecting people and ideas, and providing a voice in the marketplace of ideas, facts, and viewpoints to aid informed public debate.  The currency of public relations is trust and evidence is clear that disinformation undermines trust, erodes communication channels, and significantly disrupts our democracy, economy, workplaces, and communities – basically, our entire way of life.

Information Warfare comes in several forms

  • Mis-information. False information – but not created with negative intent.
  • Dis-information. False information, specifically created to harm a person, social group, organization, or country.
  • Mal-information. Information based on reality … but used to inflict harm on a person, organization, or country.

Information Warfare is a significant threat

According to the Institute for Public Relations’ 2019 Disinformation in Society Report, 63 percent of Americans view disinformation as a “major” problem in society, on par with gun violence (63%), and terrorism (66%). More than half (51%) of respondents said they encounter disinformation at least once per day, while 78% said they see it once each week.

 

The 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer revealed that 73% of those surveyed worry that misinformation, fake news, and digital bots are modern weapons of propaganda.

 

A study by three MIT scholars found that false news spreads more rapidly on the social network Twitter than does real news. False news stories are 70% more likely to be retweeted than true stories and it takes true stories about six times as long to reach 1,500 people as it does for false stories to reach the same number.

 

In addition, repetition of misinformation increased perceptions of its accuracy, per a study from McMaster University.

 

Information Warfare has an impact

While Russian disinformation campaigns in the U.S. garner tremendous attention, a 2019 University of Oxford study found evidence of organized social media manipulation campaigns in 70 countries, up from 48 countries in 2018, and 28 countries in 2017.  “Around the world, government actors are using social media to manufacture consensus, automate suppression, and undermine trust in the liberal international order,” the report said.

 

Beyond political or governmental entities, organizations and individuals are often the victims and perpetrators.

 

In 2017, anonymous online messages spread a false campaign against Starbucks, by posting bogus tweets to promote “Dreamer Day,” on which the company was supposedly giving free drinks to undocumented immigrants. And, Coca-Cola was forced to address false reports about a Dasani bottled water recall caused by “clear parasites.”

 

In 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission “filed securities fraud charges against a Scottish trader whose false tweets caused sharp drops in the stock prices of two companies.”  A Canadian couple used the Web and social media to inflate the stock of companies with small capitalizations and then pocketed $2.4 million by selling shares of those companies.  In India, 10 people were killed by lynch mobs after false information about child abduction gangs spread rapidly on WhatsApp.

 

In Nigeria, police say false information and incendiary images on Facebook have contributed to more than a dozen recent killings in an area plagued by ethnic violence.

 

How do Deal with Disinformation

  • Real-time listening and monitoring is essential, as is quickly identifying false or misleading information that impacts an organization.
  • Invest heavily in trust, relationships, and a good-will reservoir so your organization can withstand an attack.
  • Make ethics a priority and keep your house in order
  • Prepare and have plans in place to address false or misleading information.
  • Identify and cultivate third-party advocates who can speak on your behalf.
  • Quickly knock down misinformation.

 

Michael Cherenson, ARP, Fellow PRSA

Executive Vice President, SCG Advertising + Public Relations

Parsippany, NJ

Bio / Photo

 

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SCG Trendwatch: Recruitment Industry News & Insights – September 2019

HR TrendwatchWelcome to your monthly round-up for busy HR professionals. Each month, we share the latest news, strategies, tools and trends affecting the recruitment landscape. Check-in each month for the latest updates from all over the web.

Top ATS Systems used by the Fortune 500 in 2019 (Workday beats Taleo)

Workday is the #1 ATS system used by Fortune 500 companies, narrowly beating Taleo.  That’s what we found after a review of the 476 Fortune 500 companies that show their applicant tracking system on their public-facing career sites.  22.6% of these Fortune 500 companies use Workday versus 22.4% that use Taleo.  Oracle is still the #1 ATS provider to the Fortune 500 when you add in Oracle HRMS, iRecruitment and Oracle Cloud (see the long table below). Oracle beats Workday 24% to 22.6% when you add in Oracle’s other software.  Read more…

Fusion Recruiting Labs releases Talenize, the next-generation Talent Sourcing and Engagement Platform

Fusion Recruiting Labs today announced the launch of their newest recruitment platform: Talenize. Talenize is SaaS-based talent sourcing and engagement platform designed for high-volume, high-turnover industries, that effectively connects recruiters with qualified candidates. As the founders of industry-leading hiring platforms FindaTruckerJob.com (FATj.com) and FindaNursingJob.com, the Fusion Recruiting Labs team has developed technologies to source direct candidate leads for recruiters. With Talenize, recruiters will access a fully-managed recruitment experience featuring mobile and desktop optimized applications that boost candidate experience.   Read more…

GR8 People expands Employee Referral Program functionality with ultra personalization

GR8 People, a breakthrough one-experience talent platform for the enterprise, has introduced expanded configuration options through its platform to deliver the most advanced employee referral program (ERP) functionality on the market.

From the ability to support multiple referrals of the same candidate and the assignment of employee referral “rights” over a candidate to the creation of referral grace periods and unique URLs for employees to use when sharing or posting jobs, the enhancements reflect the demand among enterprise organizations for much greater ERP customization and flexibility. Read more...

Linkedin announces skill assessments to help you showcase your skills

We know it’s important to have a way to effectively show the skills you spend time cultivating. In fact, according to new LinkedIn research, 69% of professionals think their skills are more important than college education when job-seeking, and more than 76% wish there was a way for hiring managers to verify their skills so they could stand out amongst other candidates.  Read more…

‘Just Text Me’: Job interviews by today’s preferred communication tool

We now communicate more through our electronic devices than we do in person—this is not news. Yet job interviews have remained largely sacrosanct. While you may be reading this thinking, “Well, what about Skype or video interviews?” you have identified the growing trend of “interview by anywhere.”

Recently, employers are taking this trend one step further by eliminating visibility in favor of efficiency and near limitless candidate accessibility through interviews by text. In the constantly evolving hiring market, employers can gain a significant competitive advantage by understanding how this new process works, the benefits it can afford, and implementation strategies that simultaneously reduce potential risks.  Read more…

Seen by Indeed replaces Prime with more holistic search tools

Indeed launched a new hiring platform aimed at employers seeking better matchmaking between themselves and technology professionals. Called Seen by Indeed, the product is based on Indeed Prime but, the company said, “takes a more holistic view of tech talent.”  Read more…

Staffing industry commits to training adults 700,000 adults by 2020

The American Staffing Association has signed the Pledge to America’s Workers to commit that U.S. staffing agencies will provide opportunities to train, upskill, and reskill 700,000 temporary and contract employees and job seekers during the next five years. The pledge is a White House initiative to recognize the crucial role that companies play in educating and training the nation’s workforce.

To date, more than 350 companies and trade organizations have signed to the Pledge to America’s Workers—promising to provide more than 13.5 million enhanced career opportunities for American students and workers.  Read more…

On Chandler Bing’s Job

In an episode in the fourth season of Friends, Monica, Rachel, Chandler, and Joey find themselves engaged in an argument: Chandler and Joey, they claim, know Monica and Rachel much better than the women know them. Before long, the debate devolves into a game-show-style quiz. The host: Ross, who delights in the job. The topic: the minutiae of the friends’ lives. The stakes (which have become, through a series of predictably zany events, incredibly high): If the women lose the game, they have agreed, they will trade apartments with Chandler and Joey.  Read more…

SCG Trendwatch: MarCom Industry News – September 2019

Trendwatch Marketing

Welcome to your monthly round-up for busy MarCom professionals. Each month, we share the latest news, strategies, tools and trends affecting the industry landscape. Check-in for the latest updates from all over the web.  

YouTube masthead ads hit TV app

YouTube is rolling out masthead ads for TV screens, offering brands prominent placement within its TV app. Same as YouTube’s desktop and mobile feed masthead ads, the masthead ads for TV screens can be purchased on a cost-per-impression (CPM) basis and will be available via reserved placements.

The masthead ads will autoplay a few seconds after being served up, and brands will be able to target the ads to customized audiences.  Read more…

Facebook Publishes New Report on the Benefits of Combining Facebook and Outdoor Advertising

Outdoor ads – including bus shelter campaigns and billboards – might not be within the budget of most SMBs. But for those businesses that can afford it, there can be significant benefits to running outdoor campaigns in combination with Facebook promotions.  Read more…

Macy’s back-to-school push debuts with Snapchat shopping, TikTok challenge

Macy’s back-to-school promotion includes its first shoppable commercials on Snapchat and a video-sharing challenge on TikTok. The department store’s “All Brand New” campaign also includes digital and TV spots aimed at celebrating kids’ individuality and self-expression. Read more…

Fanta targets mobile-savvy teens with Snapchat-powered OOH campaign

Coca-Cola’s Fanta brand of fruit-flavored sodas paired its traditional out-of-home (OOH) advertising with Snap’s augmented reality (AR) technology for an immersive campaign. The “It’s a Thing” campaign lets Snapchat users point their smartphones at Fanta’s billboards and posters to unlock digital content including shareable AR filters and sticker packs, per an announcement shared with Mobile Marketer. Read more…

Engaging students in a post-email world

Too much email?

Each Texas A&M student has a dedicated email address. After years of using email as the primary way to communicate with students, we started to encounter some challenges: many students began to only monitor their personal email address, spending little to no time checking their university email address. It resulted in them not completing important administrative tasks such as signing up for direct deposit, and failing to meet important deadlines and requirements such as submitting a photograph for their identification (ID) cards or to complete financial agreements.  Read more...

Photorealistic CGI product placement ads could soon invade your favorite movies

We’re all used to personalized advertising in the age of the internet. Known as “identity marketing,” this brave new world of selling means we are shown only advertisements considered likely to appeal to us. Whether it’s Amazon recommending a new book, Netflix suggesting a particular movie, or Google selling us on a certain holiday after something we mentioned in an email, advertisers draw on information about individuals and use this to decide whether to bother targeting us with a particular ad.  Read more…

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SCG Trendwatch: Recruitment Industry News & Insights – June 2019

TrendwatchWelcome to your monthly recruitment advertising round-up for busy HR professionals. Each month, we share the latest news, strategies, tools and trends affecting the recruitment landscape. Check in each month for the latest updates from all over the web.

Tech’s jobless rate dips to 1.3%, lowest since Q1 2000

Although job gains were lackluster across most industries, including normally strong sectors like construction, tech jobs continue to show growth in an uncertain economy, partly because nearly every industry has a need for tech-minded personnel.  Read more…

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Monster turns job ads into videos

Video in the recruiting process isn’t a new concept, but employers and vendors alike are finding new ways to use the tech to improve transparency and stand out to applicants during the job hunt.  Read more…

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With ZipRecruiter’s New Product, Job Seekers “Get Recruited” by Top Companies

Employment marketplace ZipRecruiter announced today a first-of-its-kind solution which lets job seekers opt in to get recruited by employers across every industry and experience level.  Read more… 

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Three new HR roles to expect in the future

The future of work is here, and the future of HR is data-driven. We’ve all heard this before. But what new roles will emerge to handle data-driven HR?  Read more…

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AllyO raises $45 million for its AI-driven platform

AllyO, a Mountain View, California-based company developing AI-powered job recruitment products, today announced that it’s completed a series B financing round with $45 million in venture capital, contributed largely by Sapphire Ventures and Scale Venture Partners, as well as existing investors Gradient Ventures (Google’s AI fund), Randstad Innovation Fund, Bain Capital Ventures, and Cervin Ventures.  Read more…

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Vogue launches Fashion Talent Recruitment platform

Condé Nast International revealed the launch of its Vogue Business Talent platform with selected opportunities in London, New York, Paris, Milan, and Hong Kong. Read more…

Promotional products

Ten Reasons to Call SCG for Promotional Products and Apparel

This post about promotional products was originally published in 2016. As I was preparing to update, I thought about growing concerns about the environment and pending trade tariffs and how those issues impact the promotional products industry.  Whether you call them giveaways, logo merchandise, swag or chachkis, promotional products are big business. Promotional products sales consistently top $24 billion annually and growing, according to Promotional Products Association International (PPAI).

 

Like any other part of your marketing strategy, it’s all about knowing your audience, staying within budget and getting the best potential return on your investment.  Price is always part of the decision process when clients evaluate options for promo products. While budget will continue to factor in, I’d like to challenge everyone to consider safety and environmental impacts as well.

 

Here are a few tips and trends to think about:

 

1.  I always try to steer health & beauty products to options “Made in the USA”. This may become more and more important with trade negotiations. Lip Balm, Sunscreen, Antibacterial Hand Sanitizers are all available from US manufacturers under FDA standards.

2. Environmentally friendly — According to the Advertising Specialties Institute, 42% of people had a more favorable opinion of an advertiser if the promotional product they received was environmentally friendly. Reusable shopping bags are still popular because they double as a way to carry all collateral and other giveaways. Think about recycled notebooks or business cards/informational flyers embedded with flower seeds.  Restaurants are moving away from plastic straws. Consider reusable options here too.

promotional products promotional reusable straws promotional products

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Be Unique – walk up and down the aisles of any exhibit hall and you will see more pens, post-it notes and water bottles than you can imagine. If you must go traditional, at least make it interesting. How about a pen that lights up or includes a scroll for your Marketing message, a post-it note in an interesting shape, or a collapsible water bottle that will be easier to take home.

4.  Make it Practical – what good is having your logo on something that gets thrown in a drawer and forgotten, or worse yet, into the trash before it leaves the hotel. Tech tools remain popular as everyone struggles to stay connected. How about a cell phone wallet that closes, a data blocking USB adapter, a webcam cover, or a fisheye lens for your cell phone camera? I still love the universal can cover that’s perfect for pet food.

 

promotional can covers promotional cell phone wallets promotional products

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Toys – whether they take them home to the kiddies or play with them at the conference, grown-ups like toys. I’ve seen high-level professionals compete for something fun/cute.

6. Venue appropriate and/or aligned with a conference theme – Beach events cry out for sunscreen, hats and fans; rain ponchos for SEC sports fans who don’t want to miss a moment of the action; golf tools for tournaments….you get the idea.

7. Don’t forget the team apparel. A unified appearance reinforces the brand and makes it easier for attendees to know who belongs in your booth and can answer questions. Beyond conferences, spirit wear can build morale and make casual dress codes more manageable.

8. Your employees need recognition We designed gorgeous 2-sided custom coins for a hospital to recognize employees who go above and beyond and turned them into holiday ornaments. Thank employees with service awards, holiday gifts, new hire welcome kits, employee picnic items, or instant appreciation for employee referrals.

9. Think about bundling smaller items into a themed package. We’re just finishing a stadium pack for an awesome client’s employee recognition. Packaged inside a stadium approved clear bag with inexpensive binoculars, rain poncho, and sunscreen. Touch base for more details or custom recommendations.Promotional Ice Barrel

10. Display your Brand – we can also help with your display needs. From a basic retractable banner stand to a multi-dimensional work of art, stand out from the crowd in a sea of similar messages. Have you considered a branded ice barrel? This inexpensive enhancement is great for on-site events for employees or prospective new hires.

 

Yes, the promotions business is huge. You can order online from any number of sites, but you should be ordering from a partner that will consult with you and be there when something goes awry. It’s no secret that a lot of items are imported, and standards aren’t consistent. Be sure your vendor has proven suppliers and can anticipate challenges, staying on top of things, and deliver on time and on budget.  Call 678-733-9375, ext 192 for information, recommendations or quotes for comparison with your current vendor.

 

 

SCG Trendwatch: MarCom Industry News – May 2019

Trendwatch Marketing

Welcome to your monthly round-up for the marketing and communications world. Each month, we share the latest news, strategies, tools, and marketing trends affecting the landscape. Check in each month for the latest updates from all over the web.

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Content Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

https://about.blogbeats.me/blogs/content-marketing-mistakes-to-avoid.html

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Digital Marketing in 2019: Here’s Where We’re Headed

https://marketingland.com/digital-marketing-in-2019-heres-where-were-headed-this-year-254597

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A Love Letter To Digital Advertising From a Direct Mail CEO

https://venturebeat.com/2019/04/21/a-love-letter-to-digital-advertising-from-a-direct-mail-ceo/

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Facebook Is Adding Messenger Lead Generation Templates to Ads Manager

https://wersm.com/facebook-is-adding-messenger-lead-generation-templates-to-ads-manager/

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Starbucks Got An Estimated 2.3 Billion In Free Advertising From ‘Game of Thrones’ Gaffe, And It Wasn’t Even Its Coffee Cup

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/07/starbucks-got-2point3-billion-in-free-advertising-from-game-of-thrones-gaffe.html

recruiters marketers

In 2018, recruiters need to act like marketers. Oh, really?

recruitment marketingAt the beginning of each year the recruitment pundits make their predictions as to the trends that will take place in the coming year. They are hoping to give recruiters a head-start in preparing and implementing new strategies. For the most part they are all interesting and informative.

Of course, in a recruitment marketplace that is showing great job growth (January-March had the strongest average monthly job growth since 1997) and extremely low unemployment (January-March holding at 4.1%), successful talent acquisition becomes a much more daunting task. Recruiters are looking for anything that will provide the edge they need. (For more information on why the market is tightening click here.)

In trying to digest all of the suggestions, I noticed that a great number of them were saying that in 2018 recruiters need to be marketers. Hmm. Good and very pertinent suggestion; but shouldn’t talent acquisition professionals always act like marketers?

The objective of a professional talent acquisition team is to identify, attract and onboard talent that will enable the company to meet and even exceed their goals. They strive to put together strategies that will bring the best and brightest to their team. That requires constantly selling the company and continually building the employer brand by consistently repeating the employee value proposition (EVP) – what the employee receives in return for the expertise brought to the table. That is certainly no different than a marketer approaches building their brand.

Below are some things that as a recruitment marketer you can be concentrating on:

Build a consistent employer brand
This will make the candidates predisposed to applying.

Gather market intelligence
This will help you to know your competition and where you can find your next superstar.

Put your advantages front and center in copy
This will help to attract more individuals from which to choose.

Choose your media wisely
There are so many channels out there they can be confusing or the perfect targeting tools.  But it takes homework.

Don’t stop
No matter the job market’s supply and demand, always think like a marketer.

Of course, it would help to have a partner in your recruitment efforts with experience in recruitment and marketing such as an agency full of talent like SCG.  At SCG, in our daily practice we use the Peso model (Paid, earned, shared and owned media) specifically designed for HR, shown below, as the center of our strategic planning to help you achieve your goals.  Contact the SCG location nearest to you.

HR Peso Model

recruitment Peso model

 

Facebook security

Is it time to quit Facebook? Both users and brands are wondering.

Facebook security

Privacy has always been a concern for users on social media and across the internet, but these issues have come into the spotlight amidst recent reports of the Cambridge Analytica data scandal. And both users and brands are wondering is it finally time to dump Facebook. Across Twitter, #DeleteFacebook began trending. Celebrities made announcements that they were leaving Facebook. Several big name brands including Mozilla and Sonos temporarily suspended their Facebook advertising.

 

But what does this really mean for marketers? Should you pull back on your Facebook ad spending right now? Here are four reasons why companies should not be afraid to continue business as usual on Facebook.

 

1. Only a small number of people are leaving Facebook.

There are still over two billion users on the world’s largest social media platform, whose daily lives are entwined with Facebook. Although people are concerned, most are taking steps to be more cautious about data being shared rather than outright deleting their accounts.

 

Few companies are making changes to their ad spending as a result of the news, at least for now. According to Pathmatics, digital intelligence platform, of the top 1,000 ad spends on Facebook, only seven pulled ad spending following the Cambridge Analytica reports.

 

2. Facebook has been through issues before – and survived.

Facebook has already begun to make changes, including removing 3rd party data providers from its ad targeting, pausing all messenger bots and developing a new certification tool for marketers to guarantee email addresses used for ad targeting. Right now, Facebook’s priority will be to actively pursue solutions to earn back the trust of consumers.

 

Last year when Google-owned YouTube came under fire for showing brand ads next to hate speech and offensive content, brands boycotted YouTube but returned after a few months because of their quick response to remedy the situation. YouTube did not suffer any losses in earnings or growth.

 

3. Facebook advertising works.

The effectiveness of Facebook advertising has always been due to its hyper-targeting abilities. As the demand for transparency increases and access to data is limited, marketers may have to get more creative with targeting and begin to rethink their digital strategies, but as long as Facebook ads continue to deliver results, brands will continue to use it.

 

4. It could have happened to anyone.

This is the time we live in and privacy has been the tradeoff for the benefits of technology. And while the target is on Facebook right now, this is an overall consumer privacy issue across all digital media that needs to be addressed.

 

At the end of the day, leaving Facebook is a personal decision. As an ad agency, our job is to stay educated on the matter, monitor the situation closely for further fallout and help our clients determine the best strategy moving forward. And for brands, unless enough users leave or if the targeting regulations hurt performance, there is no reason to panic.

 

Regarding your personal account, learn ways to protect your data here.

 

Read more here:

http://adage.com/article/digital/marketers-wrangle-cambridge-analytica-fallout/312932/

https://marketingland.com/advertisers-didnt-leave-youtube-and-they-wont-leave-facebook-237063

https://www.impactbnd.com/blog/should-you-delete-your-facebook-account

social media afterlife

3 Ways PR Job Seekers Can Enhance Their Digital Footprint

digital footprint

 

You’ve heard it again and again — when applying for jobs and internships, make sure your social media and is pristine and appropriate. (You don’t want your Instagram or your digital footprint to speak louder than your resume.) This is especially true for aspiring public relations professionals: if you can’t manage your own social media properly, how can an agency expect you to manage a client’s?

This is why so many internship and job seekers are told to go through and delete any unsavory content, ensure their profile pictures put their best self forward, and make their social profiles private if necessary. Cleaning up your social media is a must, but with public relations positions as competitive as they are, there may be another step needed.

Take charge and create your own digital footprint:  an entirely new online identity that focuses not on your crazy nights out, but who you are and what you bring to the table as a professional.  You may not want potential employers to find your personal content, so provide an opportunity for employers to get a sense of who you are professionally.

Create a job seeking / professional social media account

Creating a professional Twitter or Instagram to demonstrate your social abilities can set you above the competition. You may be protecting yourself by making all your accounts private, but you’re also missing an opportunity to show how you’re able to manage social media profiles, stay in the loop about industry trends, and engage with brands. If that’s something you want to highlight, consider creating an Instagram or Twitter account specifically for that purpose. Retweet articles about industry trends, show off your amazing graphic design/photography skills, and show that PR is more than just a career for you – it’s a passion.

Online Portfolio or Blog

The reason many hiring managers research candidates is because they want to get a sense of the person behind the resume. What’s their personality? What kind of energy would they bring to the role? If you provide everything a manager could possibly need to know upfront and demonstrate all the creative ways you could contribute, they won’t have to look you up. So create an online portfolio or blog to show off your writing skills, share information about yourself, articulate your ideas and perspectives, and outline all the great experience you’d bring to an employer.

Leveraging LinkedIn

Every young professional should have a LinkedIn account. This platform has so many opportunities for those who invest time in using it. You can connect with those in your dream role, post relevant articles, comment on industry leader’s posts, and write/publish your own content. Being able to share an impressive and engaging LinkedIn profile with a potential employer is a plus.

So, once you’ve made sure your social media content is appropriate, consider creating an entirely new digital footprint. How are you making yourself stand out?