#Luxury Venues require Luxury Customer Service

May 03 2017

I have had the pleasure of working with some luxury service organizations over my career as well as frequent them as a paying customer. There is an art to a certain type of communication that is pervasive in the most successful businesses. Whether it’s a spa, a luxury hotel, a fine dining establishment, or even a gym–your services are wanted but not necessarily needed. They are a “nice to have option” –sometimes for the wealthy–or, like me–the working girl who puts away money in a rainy day fund for such occasions. Recently, I went on a girls trip to DC…

Viral Vulgarity: Our New Normal #PR #SocialMedia

Apr 20 2017

It has been a few weeks since we all watched a man be assaulted and dragged off of a United Airlines airplane. This week, we have seen a Facebook Live murder of an innocent elderly man–clearly a terror attack caught on video and posted for the world to see. And here, in my hometown of Memphis, TN, a recording of a racist rant (taken in Turks & Caicos) has gone viral putting Memphis–once again–in the race crosshairs of global media. Unreal. As I have watched these events unfold, I cannot help but have this nagging feeling in my gut that…

United Airlines: Worst PR Case Study I have ever seen

Apr 11 2017

I have worked in a PR career for 30 years–that is a long time! If experience is the best teacher (and I think it is), I have learned much about corporate PR strategies over my career and I have concluded that this United Airlines story of a passenger being dragged off a plane is the worst I have seen in a long time. Maybe ever. How does United recover from this unfortunate incident? They won’t. My best guess is that by now, the world has seen the video–it has garnered national media attention and lit up Twitter and Facebook with…

Updated #PR Guidelines for using Twitter

Jan 23 2017

If Twitter needed a “boost” to the brand, it is certainly getting it with the Trump’s tweets being watched 24/7 and the media constantly referring to his Twitter stream. As we have heard, it has allowed him to take his message directly to his audience. Politics aside, there can be much learned from one of the world’s most powerful users. For years I have told clients that Twitter is a great platform for telling your story. I have written blogs on the subject and once appeared on a national Fox news segment for using Twitter for good. When used…

Trump: America’s New CEO: Not Business as Usual

Nov 12 2016

If you don’t like all of the continuing conversation about this election, it might be a good idea to take a long sabbatical to the Bahamas. It’s going to be a long transition. It seems like many people I know are just glad this election is over. Actually, I think it is just now beginning. It will take some time—maybe more than we want or expect—for our nation to heal. This has been a long, hard fought battle on both sides and although the results were ‘shocking’ for many, there were many who secretly hoped and prayed for change. I…

Can Target Survive the Bad PR on the Transgender Bathroom Issue?

May 04 2016

Time and politics will tell if Target Corp. can survive the bad press they are getting and the stock decline on the recent controversial “transgender bathroom” policy—which in my opinion, they didn’t need to address. If you are doing public relations and communications for brands like Target, you are likely trained to view all policy strategies from multiple views. I am wondering if Target really took the time to do this. If studies are correct, the “transgender” community is less than .004% of the population. Consider that statistic for a minute.