Inflation is skyrocketing. Economies around the world are stalling. And on top of all this – we have a war in Europe. However you look at it, these are challenging times. Many people feel anxious about money, health, and their future; people are increasingly in a state of chronic stress because they face multiple crises.… Continue reading The Art of Communication in Challenging Times
It is five minutes to midnight, at least when it comes to sustainability and corporate reporting. We are living in a time where demands from several stakeholder groups – be it NGOs, customers, investors or governments – have never been higher. To give you an example: no one wants to buy a T-shirt that has… Continue reading Why Every Company Will Need Good ESG Reporting
Every year, hundreds of companies face major scandals and crises that require a significant amount of damage control. There is a lot that PR and marketing professionals can learn from these situations and the selected response. Here are some of the top five corporate crises from 2022 and key takeaways that every leader can use… Continue reading Top Five 2022 Corporate Crises – And The Lessons Learned
New Year’s resolutions are destined to be broken. It takes more than a statement of intent to change a behaviour. At least that’s what we know from behavioural science. It requires a change of habit and that’s easier said than done. When it comes to making a resolution for your brand there are two parts… Continue reading What Your Brand’s Sustainability Resolutions Should Be For 2023
In an increasingly connected world, it’s critical for public relations, marketing, and communications specialists to understand the dynamics that exist when communicating across cultural lines. Throughout the year, billions of people celebrate hundreds of holidays, religious events, and festivals. Communications specialists need to understand how to effectively navigate and understand holidays of the world, especially… Continue reading Holidays of The World: A Communicator’s Guide for Cultural Diversity
One of three tenets upon which Mileage Communications was built, and which guides interaction with clients, partners, staff, vendors, the media and other stakeholders, is observing integrity. Integrity refers to being honest, reliable, and trustworthy. It is about seeking to always do the right thing, standing up for what is right, and addressing conflict respectfully.… Continue reading Observing Integrity – Your Key to Long-Term Success in PR
The past few years have brought previously unseen challenges for societies globally – pandemic, war, inflation and increasing social demands and tensions. Communications professionals will have to take these new factors into account when advising their clients on day-to-day activities as well as when drafting communications plans. Increasingly, it is not the communications theory behind,… Continue reading How to Build Successful Communications Plans for 2023
In 2019, I wrote a piece for Forbes called “Don’t Go Dark in a Downturn.” In the article, I shared how to leverage marketing and PR during enduring times, such as a recession. Luckily, the advice still held true for 2020 and beyond. Brands need marketing momentum to get through economic downturns – but it… Continue reading How to Pitch PR to C-Suite Leadership
As the global Covid-19 pandemic has so clearly demonstrated over the past few years, every organization—no matter its size or industry—is vulnerable to the ever-looming threat of a crisis. These threats can range from security breaches and product recalls, to natural disasters and workplace violence incidents. As PR professionals, we understand that a company’s response… Continue reading 7 Simple Steps to Developing a Crisis Communications Plan
Being a good corporate citizen should be a part of every organization’s overall strategy. It starts at the top and isn’t something that should be approached in a haphazard way. Oftentimes, companies get involved in particular charities or causes because they have a direct connection to the CEO or other company leadership. Those initiatives are… Continue reading What is Good Corporate Citizenship?
The Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) by the European Union points to a dilemma that financial market participants (FMPs) might also face in the U.S. If FMPs, who primarily focus on small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs), have to report on the sustainability performance of the companies they work with, they might not be able to… Continue reading New EU Sustainability Reporting Rules Ask EU and U.S. Companies for More Data on Operations
Even managers most prepared to speak in public and to meet the most varied stakeholders are often reluctant to speak with the media and do not know what to do when invited to give a media interview. Whether the interview is a first time or an already familiar situation, success depends on several factors that… Continue reading Five Tips for Giving Media Interviews
Congratulations! You’ve been selected to present a keynote speech on your area of expertise. Now comes the hard part — developing a presentation that will effectively engage and resonate with your audience. Whether you’re presenting to an audience of 25 or 2,500, you’ll want to ensure that your keynote speech hits the mark. Below… Continue reading Preparing for the AGM: How to Build a Compelling CEO Speech in Five Steps
One of the primary problems with ESG reporting is trust. Because there are no universal standards by which companies report their sustainability efforts, investors and stakeholders must rely on the word of the reporting company to a significant degree. New blockchain technologies, however, bring an added level of transparency, verifiable evidence, and therefore credibility, to… Continue reading Using Blockchain for ESG to Build Trust
Nobody can foresee specific events or disruptions, however, there are trends and forces that shape the future. One of these is sustainability – or what investors call ESG. Sustainability is a business approach to creating long-term value by considering how an organisation operates in the ecological, social and economic environment. Sustainability (and ESG, which stands… Continue reading Why Sustainability Matters to Your Business – and What Can You Do About It?
Remember the saying “There’s no such thing as bad publicity?” Well, that’s not entirely accurate. More and more, brands are seeing the impact of PR scandals and crises and how they impact their market positions. Depending on the circumstances, a crisis can cast a brand in a bad light, destroy a hard-earned reputation, and put… Continue reading Top 5 Corporate Crises in 2021 to Learn From
More and more enterprises acknowledge their responsibility to share their profits with the society in which they work and grow. It is not just a matter of “good consciousness”, but rather a step that is quite logical and well based in human everyday experience: Sooner or later you will need another one’s support and help,… Continue reading Social Giving – How Should Corporations Approach It?
It seems like ages ago, but when a public relations or marketing professional wanted to create buzz for their client or brand, they used to quickly fall back on media relations. These days, that’s not necessary the case. Thanks to the rise of the internet and social media, all media are being consumed differently and… Continue reading A New Approach for Media Relations
Choosing the right NGO for a brand’s meaningful social project is a very important step – the first of many. The hard work continues by building and developing a long-term and sustainable relationship. For a deeper dive into the matter – and to get an authentic glimpse of the NGOs’ perspective – we have interviewed… Continue reading Companies-NGOs-PR Agencies – Creating the Perfect Alliance for Impactful Collaboration
As companies embrace public relations as a means of positively influencing a brand’s perception by managing communications with the media and influencers and the public, it’s important to continually review the tools that have proven to be most effective in consumer public relations. The benefits are clear and include boosting top-of-mind consumer awareness, building credibility,… Continue reading Top 10 Tactical Tools of Consumer PR
Several years ago, an automobile insurance company came to our Miami PR Firm asking if we can market a bilingual literacy program for them. We were ecstatic! We had been trying to explain to several of our corporate clients the value of investing in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), also known as Cause Related Marketing. And… Continue reading Cause Related Marketing: Who Is It For And Why Should Your Company Invest In It?
From its origin as a trendy new way to promote a brand, content marketing has grown into a versatile and easily customizable strategy to reach a highly targeted audience. Businesses and organizations across all industries now utilize content marketing to build brand awareness, thought leadership and lead generation. However, it takes more than publishing a… Continue reading Content Marketing at its Best
Let’s be honest: Not every client has a compelling story to tell if you look just at their products or services. So, a little investment in a poll or survey can help raise their profile as a thought leader and relevant voice in their respective industry. But there are a few caveats to observe so… Continue reading How to Use Polling for More Effective PR Communication?
At its core, PR is all about reputation management with stakeholders. People and brands rightly expect PR professionals to help them connect with important stakeholders, build meaningful relationships and effectively communicate the right messages to them. However, many make the mistake that PR can help them solve a real leadership and business problem especially when… Continue reading The Best PR Can’t Replace Real Leadership
Over the past 15 months, the global pandemic has challenged mankind in so many ways, from our very existence to the way we do business, and thankfully, the worst part appears to be behind us. As life goes on, so is the need to communicate, promote, salvage, interact, advise, contain, create – connections, ideas, plans,… Continue reading What Should PR Firms Be Prepared For In the Post-Covid Era?
“Between saying and doing there is the sea,” says a well-known proverb. This quote can be applied to today’s brands as they are called to cross this sea and take their Corporate Social Responsibility strategy to a new level by developing brand activism strategies that mark the transition from storytelling to storydoing. What is brand… Continue reading From Brand Purpose to Brand Activism: Time to Act
Crisis communications as a public relations practice stands out not just in the execution of high level strategies at an amplified pace, but because every crisis communications scenario serves as a stress test for that organization. Whether that crisis plays out in the headlines or gets managed internally, everyone immediately recognizes what worked… and what… Continue reading The New Chapters You Should Add to Your Crisis Handbook After Covid-19
Doing your first ESG (environmental, social and governance) report is not as simple or straight-forward as it seems. In no way are we trying to deter you from producing your first ESG report. It is one of the most important reports a company does for responsible investors and key stakeholders. Yet, our experience with first-time… Continue reading What Most Companies Get Wrong When Doing Their First ESG Report
Sustainability is becoming more and more important: People are aware of global challenges like climate change, pollution and social inequality, and they discuss them and ask for solutions. It is clear that companies have a major impact on social and ecological issues, so the pressure on them to operate sustainably is increasing accordingly. Not only… Continue reading Six Reasons Why Sustainability Matters for all Companies – and Two Common Mistakes They Should Avoid
What a year. 2020 might as well have been “the year of crisis.” Or maybe it was just one big 365-day crisis. It certainly felt like it, as The Castle Group’s crisis communications practice managed more than 100 crises for 57 clients in 19 states and two countries. As we reflect on 2020, we all… Continue reading 2020 – The Year of Crisis
Corporate stocks have seen a rollercoaster year due to Covid-19, political turmoil and social unrest all impacting market sentiments. And now news on the vaccines have arrived and are spreading hope on the stock markets again. How can publicly traded companies – especially midcaps and small firms not sitting on large marketing budgets – keep… Continue reading 5 Simple Ways to Boost Visibility of a Stock
We live in an era of hyper-connectivity and information overload. Stakeholders are bombarded with messages every moment of the day. This crowded and cluttered marketplace has not only made stakeholders more informed, it has also made them more demanding about what they expect when they interact with brands and corporations. Communicating corporate and brand values… Continue reading Leadership Is Communication
With crises of democracies and capitalism the end of this decade has brought to us globally, it has become more and more necessary and frequent for diverse interest groups to express their opinions to governments in fast and powerful ways to change the environment around them. Tired of waiting to raise their voices through traditionally… Continue reading Effective B2G Communications, or How to Reach Political Decision Makers in the Digital Age
Close cooperation between agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGO) is becoming the norm increasingly, as it offers a win-win situation for both sides. Ideally, such cooperation can generate for NGOs an increase in resources, as well as growing public awareness, improved reputation, accomplishing new extraordinary projects and recruiting more donors. On the agency side, such cooperation… Continue reading How to Work with NGOs for Mutual Success
The Covid-19 pandemic has undoubtedly disrupted the marketplace and accelerated the move towards digitization, which is now embraced even by traditional “brick and mortar” industries. Digital transformation is certainly the first imperative for businesses and brands to reimagine themselves for the new marketplace in this Covid-19 era. In fact, businesses, big or small (including mom… Continue reading Being Purpose Driven: The New Imperative to Reinventing Businesses Post Covid-19
The Covid-19 pandemic has undoubtedly disrupted the marketplace and accelerated the move towards digitization, which is now embraced even by traditional “brick and mortar” industries. Digital transformation is certainly the first imperative for businesses and brands to reimagine themselves for the new marketplace in this Covid-19 era. In fact, businesses, big or small (including mom… Continue reading Being Purpose Driven: The New Imperative to Reinventing Businesses Post Covid-19
Sustainability is no longer an optional extra. It’s becoming a core part of business. In 2019, 90% of the S&P500 published a sustainability report. Investors and customers increasingly expect companies to meet their sustainability criteria. The pressure is not just coming from board rooms. Two-thirds of employees say sustainability is extremely important to them. So,… Continue reading Three steps to boost your sustainability offering
The most recent research studies on leadership share the image of a future increasingly characterized by skills that have socially and historically belonged to the females. The old “command-economy” mentality by Henry Ford is now outdated and overtaken by the modern working organization, inspired by values such as active listening, empathy, sharing, delegation and inclusion.… Continue reading Female leadership and PR: What have they in common?
The global hospitality industry has been dealt a devastating blow by Covid-19. Most hotels and restaurants suddenly lost the majority of their customers and are struggling to keep their businesses alive. How has PR changed as a result? Can PR help in this situation? How should PR professionals think differently now? Here are what we have… Continue reading How hospitality and leisure PR has changed under Covid-19
Managing reputation for a brand or a company at the turn of this decade has been challenging for a variety of reasons: First: Everything has become faster and global, from news to information exchange, movements, trends and issues. Many of the recent grassroots movements and major issues, such as Brexit, #MeToo and Extinction Rebellion, have been… Continue reading The Five Pillars of Online Reputation Management
While I’m writing this, the vast majority of all commercial passenger aircraft are grounded as global and domestic travel is mostly prohibited. However, once this picture changes, airlines will need to quickly regain the trust of passengers and get back into a professional communications mode. This is when communications agencies can step in. But what… Continue reading How to be Pro When Doing PR for Aviation?
Do you Google yourself and your company? If not, you should. Google is the first impression for anyone who doesn’t know you. It’s common for clients, customers, colleagues and even competitors to use the Internet to form their opinion of you. They want to know who is saying what? Is the information positive, negative or… Continue reading Reputation Management and Monitoring Your Web Presence
