Now, more than ever, consumers are seeking connections. Connections with one another, connections with brands, connections with strangers on the internet. Gone are the days where businesses can run rampant with little consumer recourse. Now, accountability is front and center, which has necessitated a shift in public relations practice.

Many brands go through the struggle of finding the right “human touch” for their channels. This can be a challenge, particularly for brands that market to other businesses or that have less trendy offerings such as software or services. In order to make the right connections, therefore, it’s important to find ways to add a more human touch to a brand’s communications.

Does it seem that the stores are displaying holiday items earlier and earlier each year? The term “Christmas Creep” was first used in the mid-1980s to describe the merchandising of goods and decorations before the day after Thanksgiving which had heretofore been the traditional start of Christmas shopping. Since then, the term “holiday creep” also came into play to describe early sales for Halloween and Thanksgiving.

If your company still observes the day after Thanksgiving as the official start of the Christmas shopping season, here are some things you might consider as you plan your strategy for this year.

Public relations is often known as an industry that monitors and manages brand reputation and steps in whenever there is a misstep. Unfortunately, making a PR mistake is fairly commonplace, and other brands can often learn from the mistakes that others make. Adjusting a public relations strategy according to what others have done is one way to help prevent problems in the future.

Handling a mistake can make or break the success of a brand, especially if that mistake is one that many consumers are aware of. For this reason, managing the spread of information is one of the biggest challenges that public relations professionals face. Particularly in today’s age of rapidly spreading information — correct or not — this can be quite a task for even the most seasoned professional.

Marketing to consumers is challenging, that goes without saying. Because of the challenges we as marketing professionals face in an evolving industry, it’s important to find ways to be effective with a brand’s messaging and marketing strategy.

Our question to you today is this: how well do you really know your client base or customers?

We’ve seen some large companies take positions on controversial issues and even brand some of their product lines to reflect their feelings. Ben and Jerry’s and Starbucks were among the early adopters of this growing trend.

Now employees at several large and well-known companies are raising their voice and informing their employers how they feel about different social and political issues. Is this good or bad for a company’s business?

Everyone needs a fresh start every now and then, and this is no less true for your brand. Sometimes rebranding is just the thing to breathe new life into your business; here are three signs you’re ready for your next chapter.

In the ever-expanding digital age, bad news travels fast. One day, you might be the world’s favorite shampoo brand, the next it seems the whole of social media is accusing you of accelerating male pattern baldness. If your brand’s image is in the doghouse, you might be ready to seriously consider undergoing a major rebrand.

Collaborative environment. Flexible schedules. Free coffee. Happy hours. “Unlimited” paid time off.

Sound familiar? This is a generic list of workplace perks and benefits often found in job descriptions spanning multiple industries. Today, there is an increased amount of attention placed on company culture. But this term is a bit open to interpretation, and not every culture is created equal.

Scarcity marketing can be a powerful tool to sell your product or service. Scarcity marketing is based on the principle that people want to have things are hard to obtain. It creates a sense of exclusivity and also operates on the psychology of fear – forcing people to act out of fear of missing out.

However, these days, it seems like a thing of the past with everything being about convenience, ease, and availability. If you can’t get something you want from one business, then you can probably get it from the store around the corner, and if that’s not possible either, then it’s just a few clicks away. People are just not used to limited supplies or having to wait for something anymore.