Public Affairs
Podcast: 2 Key Things Every US Brand Should Consider Under the New USMCA Trade Deal
The Wall Street Journal is dominated by headlines pointing to looming impacts from the US trade wars with the rest of the world. The market is in whiplash mode, manufacturers are signaling difficult days ahead and President Trump is attacking The Fed saying its decision to raise rates is threatening what has been a booming…
Read MorePodcast: Rethinking Health Care Through Disruption
Food, entertainment, transportation and travel have all become increasingly customer-centric as digital and social technology disrupt industries. Now, the man who arguably created the early model of consumer-centric brand champions in the food industry is turning his focus toward healthcare. Click to listen to a conversation with Mark Addicks. Addicks is the CEO of the…
Read MoreWhat does your brand believe in?
Nike’s 30th anniversary ‘Just Do It’ campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick has done what every advertising agency hopes for – dominate public conversation. It has broken off the sports page and generated everything from a presidential tweet to sneaker-effigies usually reserved for star players taking their talents elsewhere. The campaign was timed perfectly to coincide with…
Read MoreWhat do MSP elections mean for business?
Business and organizational leaders woke up to a StarTribune headline stating Voters Shake Up City Hall. Is it really a shake up? And if so, how should business leaders rethink their strategies and actions to better navigate city politics in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Four Tunheim political watchers share their insights on the elections, the…
Read MoreA View From Our Pollster: Hear Voters Speak In Their Own Words, Then Recognize Racial Bias
A View From Our Pollster: Hear Voters Speak In Their Own Words, Then Recognize Racial Bias By Margie Omero Working as a pollster, white Americans’ racial prejudice is hard to avoid. You particularly hear it in focus groups, where voters can easily lapse into racially coded language. I’ve had respondents tell me they’ve heard on…
Read MoreAdvice from a digital marketer: It’s time for critical OFFLINE conversations
As a millennial, digital mediums have long been part of the fabric of my life. I grew up on Prodigy and AOL, was a loyal MySpace user and an early and heavy user of Facebook. Six years ago, I made the official jump to be a social media manager at a digital firm. Now leading…
Read MoreTrump’s Electoral Success Solidifies Digital As The New Public Affairs Norm
Digital ads are the new norm for public affairs campaigns. In 2016, more than $1.4 billion was spent on digital ads in federal, state and local elections. That’s a 789% increase from only four years ago. In fact, more money was spent on digital ads than telemarketing, cable TV ads and direct mail. Facebook remains…
Read MoreAmerica is desperate for an adult conversation. Why not one on trade.
You might not know it from all the noise (shouting) on the presidential campaign trail, but there are some real issues on the minds of voters. According to a May 2016 Gallup survey, 25 percent of Americans picked the economy or jobs as the next president’s top priority. Economic anxiety is once again on the…
Read MoreRethinking Outrage: It is More Impactful to Stand for Something
By Kathy Tunheim, CEO There was a fascinating article in The New York Times in February (“What’s the Point of Moral Outrage?“) about a study that had been published in the journal Nature by a group of academics from Yale University and Harvard University. Using both empirical and theoretical experiments, they developed a theory about…
Read MoreCommunicators: Are You Prepared for Your Next Public Fight?
Written by Darin Broton, senior consultant Thomas Jefferson was right — with great risk comes great reward. Nothing is more risky than starting a public fight, even with a government agency, high-profile personality or brand. Whether your organization picks the public fight or finds itself needing to react to a provocation, it is important to…
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