Also: Course Hero’s contest embraces the future, how video content and D&I efforts can affect your bottom line, Miller Lite adjusts to ‘International Beer Day,’ and more.
Hello, communicators:
Course Hero is offering one person the opportunity to earn $1,000 and a year’s subscription to its service, as well as additional swag and a year’s subscription to a streaming service, to watch the “Brave New World” show and compare it to the book.
The contest is also requires the winner (along with two runner-ups) to tweet or livestream the experience under the hashtag #CHBraveNewWorld.
Image courtesy of Course Hero.
Here are today’s top stories:
Following the departure in June of the publication’s former editor in chief, Adam Rapoport, three journalists are quitting Bon Appétit’s thriving YouTube series, “Test Kitchen.”
The journalists—Sohla El-Waylly, Priya Krishna and Rick Martinez—have announced they will no longer record videos after negotiations to adjust their pay and meet diversity and inclusivity promises fell through. Bon Appétit’s on-camera staff have refused to create videos since the negotiations started.
Krishna tweeted the following statement:
— Priya Krishna (@priyakrishna) August 6, 2020
The New York Times reported:
“After five weeks of contract negotiations,” Mr. Martinez wrote, “it is clear that I will not get a fair pay rate nor will I get a comparable number of appearances to my colleagues in the test kitchen. Nor would anyone share with me the specifics of the diversity and inclusivity initiatives in video that they claim to be working on.”
The three indicated that they have not left the magazine, whose masthead lists Ms. El-Waylly as an assistant food editor, Ms. Krishna as a contributing writer and Mr. Martinez as a contributing food editor. (“Contributing” workers at Condé Nast are contractors, rather than staff employees; Ms. Krishna has contributed frequently to the Food section of The New York Times.)
Condé Nast maintains that its pay practices “are in line with industry standards.”
— Voices of Color (@vocinsider) August 6, 2020
Why it’s important: The news has made headlines and trended on Twitter, overshadowing Bon Appétit’s announcement that Sonia Chopra is its new executive editor. (The feedback on Twitter is brutal, too.) If your employees are unhappy, the truth will eventually come to light—and often, it will result in a tarnished reputation and eroded consumer trust.
Miller Lite has adjusted its International Beer Day campaign to offer consumers free beer if they visit and purchase a case in certain United States cities.
— Miller Lite (@MillerLite) August 5, 2020
For example, certain zip codes in Maryland will stand in for Scotland, Idaho will temporarily be dubbed Malta and New Mexico will masquerade as Cuba.
The effort is a creative way to help consumers “travel” during COVID-19. Don’t be afraid to get creative when adjusting your efforts throughout the pandemic.
The departures by journalists of color for Bon Appétit’s “Test Kitchen” YouTube series highlights a couple of important PR and marketing truths. First, video content, when done well and coupled with excellent storytelling strategies, has the power to boost your bottom line. Social Blade reports that the Condé Nast publication earns between $3,200 and $51,000 each month for its YouTube channel:
Image courtesy of Social Blade.
The second lesson is how much your organization’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts can also affect your bottom line (along with your brand reputation).
Social Blade reports that Bon Appétit lost roughly 10,000 subscribers on Thursday when headlines circulated and conversation on social media grew. The site also estimates that Bon Appetit’s monthly subscriber rate has decreased 300% and its monthly video views dropped more than 36%. Its currently monthly subscriber rate is currently the lowest it’s been (at least since 2017).
Image courtesy of Social Blade.
Your organization’s YouTube presence might not command the numbers of Bon Appétit’s (with more than 2 million views on several of its “Test Kitchen” videos), but video content can strengthen your content marketing campaigns and help expand your reach.
Just remember that your organization’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts can negatively affect more than your brand’s image. If you’re not willing to commit to efforts that not only welcome, but actively seek out people of color to join your workforce, be prepared to lose employees—and have a tougher time attracting top talent.
Looking for more insight on how to address the current global crisis and lead your organization into a strong recovery?
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Join Ragan’s Crisis Leadership Board to network and brainstorm with peers, get the latest intelligence and research, and start to strategize for the future of your organization.
Learn more about this exclusive membership here.
The social media company announced that its employees can continue to work remotely for almost another year due to COVID-19.
The New York Times reported:
“Based on guidance from health and government experts, as well as decisions drawn from our internal discussions about these matters, we are allowing employees to continue voluntarily working from home until July 2021”, a Facebook spokeswoman said in an emailed statement.
“In addition, we are giving employees an additional $1,000 for home office needs,” it added.
The news follows announcements from Google that its employees can work from home until June of next year, and Twitter’s decree that its workforce can remain remote indefinitely.
Why it’s important: If you’re still treating the COVID-19 crisis—and your remote workforce arrangements—as a short-term initiative, you might want to adjust your strategies. Solicit feedback from your employees and consider how you can better support them while they stay at home. Evaluate how your frontline employees are doing and how you can better empower your mangers to communicate and support essential workers. Doing so can improve your workplace culture as well as boost productivity.
Following the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and others, organizations were pushed more forcefully than ever before to take stands against systemic racism and move to support social justice initiatives. Which responses made an impact—and which responses fell flat?
Learn from 10 of the biggest brand messages in our special report, “Organizational responses to Black Lives Matter.” The report offers communicators important takeaways to lead organizations and clients in the second half of 2020 and into the future.
Download our report here.
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Hasbro is pulling a “Trolls World Tour” doll after backlash that called the figurine inappropriate.
The doll, “Trolls World Tour Giggle and Sing Poppy,” will say a variety of phrases when you press on its stomach. It’s also supposed to giggle when it sits, but the button to activate the noise is placed between the doll’s legs, under its skirt.
? pic.twitter.com/Q258vsGqcC
— Sam Parker ?? (@SamParkerSenate) August 5, 2020
Deadline reported:
“This feature was designed to react when the doll was seated, but we recognize the placement of the sensor may be perceived as inappropriate,” Hasbro spokeswoman Julie Duff said in a statement. This was not intentional and we are happy to provide consumers with a replacement Poppy doll of similar value through our Consumer Care team. We are in the process of removing the item for purchase.”
The crisis serves as a reminder to vet your products as well as your PR and marketing campaigns, so you can avoid potential backlash as well as an expensive backtrack.
We asked which email phrases raise your hackles, and almost 43% of you loathe the term “per my last email” or “per our last conversation.” More than 26% are annoyed by requests to “circle back,” while nearly 17% don’t like to have someone “just loop in” another person. Roughly 14% say their pet peeve is an email “confirming receipt.”
Weigh in below and share those we missed, and we’ll share in tomorrow’s #DailyScoop!
— PR Daily (@PRDaily) August 6, 2020
Amanda Ponzar, chief communications and strategy officer for Community Heealth Charities, shared her responses to common email phrases (to which you might relate):
Popping this to the top of your inbox. (Though I probably needed reminder.)
Checking back in. (For the 4th time?)
Did you get my email? (Sigh.)
You may have missed my email. (No, I deleted it; you’re spam.)#emails #petpeeves #DailyScoop https://t.co/fAetbApgGm
— Amanda P. (@LivingUnited) August 6, 2020
Is there a question you’d like us to ask in an upcoming poll? Let us know!
What’s your most important desk accessory as you work from home during COVID-19?
Weigh in below and reply with a picture of yours/share under #DailyScoop, and we’ll share on Monday.
Have a great weekend!
— PR Daily (@PRDaily) August 7, 2020
Share your experiences with us below and share a picture of your set up under the #DailyScoop hashtag. We’ll share on Monday.
(Main image via)
Topics: Brand Journalism, Content Marketing, Crisis Communications, Daily Scoop, Executive Communication, External Communications, Health Care, Leadership Communications, Marketing, Media Relations, PR Industry, Research, Storytelling, The Workplace, Visual & Video Communications, Writing & Editing
Your headline about the Facebook WFH option is misleading; “allowing” employees to “voluntarily” work from home is not even close to a “mandate.” In fact, ‘voluntary’ anything is sort of an antonym of ‘mandate.’
That said, I do appreciate the updates on what these companies are doing and saying.
Your point is well taken, thanks Lori.
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