Hi! Your Friday Daily PR Brief is here - May 16, 2025
Corporate storytelling goes analog; Use of genAI linked to declining consumer trust in media; Savannah Bananas' social media masterclass; more!
Read some of today's best PR and Comms industry news clips:
Corporate storytelling goes analog (Axios - May 15, 2025)
A Communications Playbook for the Trump Era (O'Dwyer's - May 15, 2025)
Target CEO attempts to regain trust and boost employee morale; PwC employees react to layoffs (Ragan Communications - May 16, 2025)
PR Roundup: HBO Max is Back, Grok Glitches Out, CEOs Losing Trust (PRNEWS - May 15, 2025)
Has the Communication Workplace Become More Diverse? (Institute for Public Relations - May 14, 2025)
Cutting Through the Noise: Takeaways for Today's Communicators (PRsay - May 15, 2025)
Use of genAI linked to declining consumer trust in media (PRmoment (UK) - May 14, 2025)
Lifestyle PR done right: How Bumble and Outdoor Voices are defining PR for the new generation (Agility PR Solutions - May 16, 2025)
What Communicators Can Learn from the Savannah Bananas' Social Media Masterclass (CommPRO - May 15, 2025)
PR veteran Michael Levine shares how he built a powerhouse clientele from 'nothing' (EIN Presswire - May 15, 2025)
frankly… Episode 68: The Agency to In-House Pipeline (Franco - May 15, 2025) [PODCAST]
Allison Rawlings on How to Start With Yes (Mixing Board - May 15, 2025)
3 ways to start a story (PR Daily - May 16, 2025)
Uncertainty Slams the Door on Q1 M&A, IPO Activity (PRovoke - May 15, 2025)
Summary Section:
Corporate storytelling goes analog
By Eleanor Hawkins
Axios - May 15, 2025
Microsoft, Hinge and Costco have created their own print magazines to tell their corporate stories, enhance their reputation and engage with hard-to-reach audiences. It's part marketing and part strategic storytelling, communication executives from these companies told Axios.
A Communications Playbook for the Trump Era
By Alyse Deutsch and Rosalind Reischer
O'Dwyer's - May 15, 2025
From restructured trade relationships to sharp reversals on federal DEI and ESG programs, the administration's actions have created both upheaval and opportunity. The pace and unpredictability of executive orders, combined with a renewed emphasis on "America First" policies, have left the global business community racing to recalibrate.
Target CEO attempts to regain trust and boost employee morale; PwC employees react to layoffs
By Courtney Blackann
Ragan Communications - May 16, 2025
The week in Comms. Target CEO addresses staff in company memo – but it may not have landed well. Employees react after an unexpected 1,500 are let go from PwC. Plus, is RTO a strategic way to cut the workforce?
PR Roundup: HBO Max is Back, Grok Glitches Out, CEOs Losing Trust
By Nicole Schuman
PRNEWS - May 15, 2025
This week PR Roundup looks at the re-brand (or re-re-brand?) of HBO Max, Grok's penchant for white genocide discussion and a new study revealing declining trust for CEOs.
Has the Communication Workplace Become More Diverse?
By Diversity Action Alliance
Institute for Public Relations - May 14, 2025
The Diversity Action Alliance collected data from 99 of its signatories to track racial/ethnic diversity and the advancement of employees across organizational levels (e.g., top, executive, mid-level, entry-level, and admin) from 2019 to 2023. More than 16,000 communication employees were included in the 2023 report (from Jan. 1 – Dec. 31).
Cutting Through the Noise: Takeaways for Today's Communicators
PRsay - May 15, 2025
Let's be honest — grabbing attention these days feels like shouting in a crowded room. With AI, TikTok and a million other things competing for eyeballs, it's no wonder communicators are looking for new ways to stand out.
Use of genAI linked to declining consumer trust in media
By Elizabeth Howlett
PRmoment (UK) - May 14, 2025
The rising use of genAI has been linked to consumers' declining trust in media, according to a new poll. The study which polled 2,000 UK consumers in April 2025 found over half (53%) believed their trust in the media (print, digital news, social media and broadcast) was a direct result of genAI tools, such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude.
Lifestyle PR done right: How Bumble and Outdoor Voices are defining PR for the new generation
By Ronn Torossian, Founder of 5WPR
Agility PR Solutions - May 16, 2025
The rise digitally of Bumble and Outdoor Voices are two standout examples of small brands that have not only disrupted their respective industries but have done so by leveraging lifestyle PR in unique and innovative ways. Here’s what they’re doing right. In a world where consumers are more discerning than ever, small lifestyle brands are increasingly relying on PR to set themselves apart and create lasting connections with their target audiences. Public relations is no longer
What Communicators Can Learn from the Savannah Bananas' Social Media Masterclass
CommPRO - May 15, 2025
According to insights from Tubular Labs, the Bananas are not just winning games, they're redefining how content-first storytelling can ignite fan engagement. For communicators, their playbook offers more than entertainment—it's a case study in platform-native content strategy, brand voice development, and authentic audience connection.
PR veteran Michael Levine shares how he built a powerhouse clientele from 'nothing'
By Issac Morgan
EIN Presswire - May 15, 2025
With almost every success story, there come obstacles that make the climb to greater career heights even more meaningful and inspiring to others. Few understand this better than veteran entertainment publicist Michael Levine.
frankly… Episode 68: The Agency to In-House Pipeline [PODCAST]
By Nina Scarpelli
Franco - May 15, 2025
Rachel and Dan sit down with Hexion Content and Brand Manager Erica Tackett for a candid conversation about navigating the shift from agency life to the corporate marketing world.
Allison Rawlings on How to Start With Yes
Mixing Board - May 15, 2025
Allison just wrapped up nearly a decade at NBCUniversal where she was the Executive Vice President of Communications for Television & Streaming. In this Studio Session, Allison and Mixing Board Founder Sean Garrett talk about how to keep a client-focused mentality even when you go in-house, how to manage stakeholders by making a 'no' sound like a 'yes,' why brands need to be built from the inside out and why we shouldn't be so strict about 'staying in our lanes.
3 ways to start a story
By Tom Corfman
PR Daily - May 16, 2025
Bret Stephens, who received the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 2013, offered a tip that's useful to any storyteller, including public relations and internal communications teams. "A wise editor once observed that the easiest decision a reader can make is to stop reading," he wrote in 2017, after he jumped from The Wall Street Journal to The New York Times. "This means that every sentence has to count in grabbing the reader's attention, starting with the first."
Uncertainty Slams the Door on Q1 M&A, IPO Activity
By Paul Holmes
PRovoke - May 15, 2025
After early excitement about a surge of M&A activity in 2025, economic uncertainty has put deals on hold. But companies still need to communicate their strategies to the market.
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