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There are some unique things you can do to position your PR agency appropriately. One of those is to not be a full-service marketing agency. It may be unwise to be all things to everyone: instead, you really want to have a niche that will set you apart. In this episode Drew Porcello, Founder and President of Pivot PR, gives some firsthand advice on how to position your agency around a specific area.

Chipotle. Home Depot. H&M. Abercrombie & Fitch. As huge as these companies are, as well-established as they are, as long as it took to build up their world-class reputations, they were all crippled by one thing: the crisis. In part 3 of our interview series with Mike Swenson from Crossroads Communications, Mike was kind enough to discuss crisis communications with us, including 4 ways to handle it.

In a world where PR agencies are required to deliver more and more complete solutions that leverage digital technologies, an integrated agency can be a very productive environment. In this episode Greg Loh, Managing Partner of Public Relations and Affairs at Eric Mower + Associates, explains why one executive can’t do it all anymore, and why an integrated approach is just what the doctor ordered for today’s PR clients.

Cause marketing is a partnership between a for-profit company and a nonprofit organization to do good in their community. For the company, it’s an opportunity to organize and formalize their philanthropic activities. For the nonprofit, it’s an avenue for them to talk about their mission and gain valuable resources for it. In part two of our three-part series with him, Mike Swenson, President of Crossroads Communication, shares a few secrets to what makes the best cause partnerships work.

Credibility and execution are everything in building relationships and trust with investors. So PR professionals need to know how to build credibility for their corporate clients. So much of how to do that centers around how you communicate. In this episode Moira Conlon, Founder and President of Financial Profiles, shares her experience working with Wall Street and building credibility through how you handle good—and disastrous—situations.

When people think of branding, they think of marketing. It makes sense: when you’re putting a brand out you’re thinking of what the return will be. But branding is important for PR professionals, too. In PR, you are charged with making sure that people understand and connect with that brand. In this episode Tonita Perry, Principal Public Relations Strategist at Eaddy Perry & Associates, shares how PR professionals can use branding to connect companies to their audiences and make them “brand surrogates.”

Compared to 35 years ago, the world of PR is dramatically different today. In order to be a successful communicator in the 21st century, you have to be real. You can’t spin things anymore, or not answer questions. You have to be real, authentic and transparent. In this episode Mike Swenson, President of Crossroads Communication, talks about the most important changes in PR over the 35 years since he started his company, and how social media has changed everything about your job.

We are living in a rapidly changing world. The demography in the United States has changed more in the past 50 years than it has in the country’s entire history. Some PR agencies out there may not know how to reach out to diverse communities. Or if they do, they may not understand that there is diversity even within those communities. In this episode Andres Ramirez, President of The Ramirez Group, shares the common mistakes that PR agencies make when reaching out to diverse cultural groups. Listen in to hear how to avoid those mistakes.

It isn’t hard to see that humans make decisions out of their emotions. The job for PR professionals, then, is to “find the feeling” within the DNA of both the company they are working with and the audience that company is trying to reach. Do that, and you’ll create a marriage that will last. In this episode Gillian Christie, Founder and CEO of Christie & Co, talks about passionate PR—and why embracing the emotional side of PR work helps you to flourish in your role.

The world of PR, like any other industry, has a lot to learn from itself. Robert Chaffin, host of The PR Executive, is the Founder and CEO of Reputation Sumo, a reputation management firm. His years of experience in marketing and reputation management have taught him to work hand in hand with PR agencies, reversing the fortunes of brands that have taken a hit. In this podcast, you can expect 12-15 minutes per episode, valuable content from PR executives, for PR executives, and a wealth of knowledge on branding, team culture, reputation management, public affairs, influencer marketing, strategic planning, technology, and more from our guests