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Generative AI is everywhere now. You see it in content, campaigns, customer experiences, and even internal workflows. It promises speed, scale, and efficiency, but there’s a harder question sitting underneath all that progress; Do your audiences actually trust it?

Trust in the Age of AI: What Consumers Really Think About AI Generated Content

Today, PR teams aren’t just tracking media coverage and share of voice. They’re also measuring how their brand shows up in AI-generated answers, search summaries, and large language models (LLMs). This new LLM visibility layer is quickly becoming a critical part of PR performance.

15 Must-Have PR KPIs and How to Track Them

See how one platform can power every decision across PR, communications, and marketing.

The Meltwater Blog

Blog Topics: Generative Engine Optimization, Media Intelligence, Media Relations, Social Listening, Consumer Intelligence, Influencer Marketing

Find out how you can leverage Facebook to boost your brand's online presence and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

Facebook Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage Instagram to boost your brand's visual appeal and gain a competitive edge. Explore our category page today!

Instagram Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage LinkedIN to grow your professional network and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

LinkedIn Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage TikTok to elevate your brand with creative content and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

TikTok Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage X / Twitter to engage your audience effectively and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

X / Twitter Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage YouTube to create engaging video content and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

YouTube Blog | Meltwater

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is transforming how brands show up in AI-powered search. Explore insights, strategies, and best practices to help your content rank and resonate across conversational engines like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot.

Explore insights and strategies for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) to help your brand stay visible and discoverable in AI-powered search.

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Blog Collection | Meltwater

Every day billions of conversations take place on social media: tweets, posts, comments, blogs, reviews, podcasts, and much more.
Learn how to use social listening to make sense of all of that data.

On our social listening category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around social listening and social media monitoring. Read more.

Social Listening Blogs | Category

Business Reputation Management: What does it take to add reputation management to your marketing strategy? More importantly, how do you keep your reputation sparkly and shiny? Here’s your all-access guide to online reputation management for the long term.

On our reputation management category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around business reputation management. Read more.

Reputation Management Blogs | Category

From your brand's logo to your website, your social media presence to your customer support—these elements combined are what constitutes a brand in the minds of customers. But, there are thousands of other businesses that have a logo, website, social media presence, and website. So, how can you position your business on the market and make it stand out from the competition?
The key to success is branding & brand management!

On our brand management category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around brand management. Build your strategy and reach your goals!

Brand Management Blogs | Category

Competitive intelligence and the act of collecting competitive data can be seen as growth drivers for a company. Our guide will help you understand the concept of competitive intelligence (CI) by answering questions such as: What is the definition of competitive intelligence? How is competitive intelligence useful to organizations? What is the goal of competitive intelligence? And more.

On our competitive intelligence category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around competitive intelligence. Learn how to stay ahead.

Competitive Intelligence Blogs | Category

Let’s dive into the customer journey framework and how to optimize the process by creating a customer journey map and using metrics that matter when analyzing the customer journey.

On our customer journey category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around mapping and understanding the customer journey.

Customer Journey Blogs | Category

What Is Data Analytics? [Beginner’s Guide 2023]
How can I grow my business? 
How do customers interact with my newly launched product?
How do I increase the productivity of my employees?
How do I know if my marketing efforts are working?
We have just two words for you...Data analytics!

On our data analytics category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around AI and data analytics. Technical and still easy to understand.

AI & Data Analytics Blogs | Category

Public relations and media relations can add impact to any marketing strategy. It’s an opportunity for brands to grow their reach beyond traditional sales messages. PR helps to shape the image you want people to have of your brand.
So, what is PR and how do you use it? This guide shows you everything you need to know to build a strong public relations foundation.

On our public relations (PR) category page, you find all our blogs covering public relations and communications topics. Step up your PR game.

Public Relations (PR) Blogs | Category

We all know exactly what the roles of sales or accounting are in a company, right? We might even have a slight idea of what the IT guys are doing.
But there is another business discipline, that plays a crucial role in organizations, even more so during the pandemic – internal communications!
But what exactly do we mean by that, what purpose does it serve and what steps can you take to ensure you and your employees will communicate effectively?

On our internal communications category page, you find all our blogs about internal comms topics. Learn about the intranet, internal newsletters, and more.

Internal Communications Blogs | Category

As the internet has taken root in more areas of our lives — everything from entertainment to shopping to paying bills and more — traditional marketing is becoming less impactful. As any marketer knows, you need to focus on where your audience is if you want to reach them. Since the average person spends about seven hours a day online, it’s no surprise that content has maintained its hold on marketers.

Here's a closer look at what content marketing is and why it matters more than ever in our digital-first economy.

On our content marketing category page, you find blogs about content marketing topics. Learn about strategies, KPIs, tips, and more. Make your content king!

Content Marketing Blogs | Category

The rise of the influencer marketing space – today a $10 billion industry, growing 50% per year – is one of the clearest examples of how social media is transforming traditional marketing. These days having a business website, presence on social, PR coverage, and your own content isn’t enough to compete.
We'll dive into the intricacies of influencer marketing to help ensure that you're equipped with the insights needed to be successful in this space.

On our influencer marketing category page, you find blogs about influencer marketing topics. Build your strategy, find influencers, and measure results.

Influencer Marketing Blogs | Category

Have you just launched a new product or service that you want to get the word out about? Maybe you want to share with consumers why it is awesome and how it is so much better than the one your competitors offer.

Well, then, there is one thing you can't do without...Marketing!

On our marketing category page, you find blogs about marketing topics. Learn about all the different angles and types of marketing and improve your results.

Marketing Blogs | Category

In this guide, we want to give you a peek into the definition of social media management, the daily schedule of a social media manager, social media platforms to promote your business, and the do’s & don’ts of social media management.
Are you ready to begin the journey of becoming a social media superstar?

On our social media management category page, you find blogs about social media management topics. Build and manage your online community.

Social Media Management Blogs | Category

Building a following and using social media platforms to reach a wider audience requires a well-planned social media marketing strategy. In this guide, we’ll be looking at why social media marketing is so essential and how you can make it work for your business.

On our social media marketing category page, you find blogs about social media marketing topics. Learn how to get the highest paid social ROI!

Social Media Marketing Blogs | Category

In the fast-evolving realm of digital marketing and public relations, utilizing the right tools is crucial for success. Our interdisciplinary category showcases all the pertinent tools for digital marketing & PR. These tools help in enhancing your online presence and effectively reaching target groups, whether through reputation management, influencer marketing, or social media management.

On our digital marketing and PR tools category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around mapping and understanding the customer journey.

Digital Marketing & PR Tools Blogs | Category

As many of us in the marketing, public relations and communications industries know, it's not uncommon for journalists to receive hundreds of media pitches every week, and, sadly, only a small portion of them are relevant to their chosen beat or publication.

So to help prevent PR spam from flooding your inboxes and to comply with global data protection laws such as GDPR, Meltwater has created a space where journalists can either add own their profile or update a profile that has been created for them under applicable privacy laws. 

This blog post aims to provide some insight into the PR manager’s workflow and how having a journalist profile in Meltwater can improve your media relations. 

Journalists Can Unsubscribe From Specific PR Pitches

Building a Searchable Writing Portfolio 

If you’re looking to receive more relevant pitches from PR and communications executives, then creating a journalist profile within the Meltwater platform is a good first step. Thousands of journalists across the globe have created these profiles because it helps them filter out unwanted pitches and press releases by informing PR professionals on the type of pitches and press releases they are the most interested in receiving. There is no cost to having a journalist profile in Meltwater. 

With a Meltwater profile, journalists can update their basic information and add the beats and publications they write for. Since PR pros primarily search for journalists based on this type of information, keeping your profile up-to-date helps ensure that you are receiving content pertinent to the topics you currently write on.

If a journalist moves publications, which is increasingly common in the industry, they can update that information as well, allowing for a seamless transition. In some cases, Meltwater may create a journalist profile on your behalf using publicly available information, in accordance with privacy laws. In such cases, journalists can update this profile or request its removal entirely. 

Journalists Can Unsubscribe from Specific PR Pitches 

Besides being able to opt-out from all media pitches coming through Meltwater, you can unsubscribe from a specific company that spams you with irrelevant press releases. 

Unfortunately, this is an all too common problem in PR firms, and so this feature benefits journalists by allowing them to only receive news from PR managers who have done their research, pitched a relevant story, and made an effort to build a relationship with them. 

If a journalist has opted-out of receiving Meltwater emails, but knows who specifically they’re interested in hearing from, they may send a subscription request to journalists@meltwater.com. Using this email address, journalists can also formally request from Meltwater a preview of what their profile looks like in the Media Relations platform.

Whether you’ve added your profile directly or one has been created for you, Meltwater provides pathways to manage your preferences, edit or delete your profile, or opt out of communications entirely.

In compliance with applicable data protection laws, journalists can also delete their profiles and data entirely. In summary, a Meltwater journalist profile gives you control over who you receive story pitches from.    

Having an up-to-date, easily-accessible portfolio is critical for those looking to build their influence, and having your journalist profile in Meltwater allows for this. 

With a journalist profile in Meltwater, you are able to control the volume and quality of the PR pitches you receive, while building a publicly accessible portfolio of writing samples.

Whether you add your own profile or update one that Meltwater has created, the ability to showcase your work and fine-tune who reaches out to you remains the same.

So, when building a media relations strategy and conversing with journalists, be sure to encourage them to claim their Meltwater profile so they can take advantage, start saving time, and building a strong network.

The media relations strategy process takes time and isn’t something you can rush. The more thought and effort you put in, the more likely you are to receive positive results. If you’re looking for a suite of solutions that helps you discover and engage with the right voices, and report on earned media – using Meltwater’s PR Suite can help you manage this process from start to finish.

The Best Approach to Media Relations: Benefits of Having a Journalist Profile on Meltwater

Public relations professionals play a huge part in a brand’s online reputation. Good PR helps you promote the image you’ve built and protect it. And by employing the right PR strategies at the right time, you can maximize good PR while making bad PR matter a lot less.

Part of a PR professional’s job is to stay up-to-date on the latest industry trends. Why does this matter, you ask? It’s simple: our world is ever-changing, which means PR is changing, too.

What mattered to consumers three years ago might look incredibly different today. And since PR is all about shaping your image in the minds of consumers, you need to know how certain tactics and strategies may resonate with your audience at any given time.

Let’s take a look at 8 top PR trends that should pilot your brand strategy in 2025:

Data and Analytics Take Center Stage for PR Strategies

Diversity and Inclusion Reign Supreme for PR

Influencer Marketing Is Still Going Strong

Why It Pays to Pay Attention to PR Trends

Just like in marketing, the public relations industry experiences trends and changes. We’re seeing more noticeable trends emerge each year as the gap between PR and marketing narrows.

A number of things influence PR trends: consumer preferences, employee expectations, and technology, for example. As each of these areas evolves, your PR strategies must also evolve if you want to continue presenting your company in a favorable light.

For example, let’s say your new product is receiving tons of negative reviews. Who should respond: public relations or marketing? Just a few years ago, this might have fallen solely on PR departments. Today, however, it’s an increasingly shared responsibility.

Check out this blog if you want to learn more about the differences between PR and marketing.

Paying attention to PR trends can help brands know the who, how, and when in addressing problems and opportunities. This helps reduce the chances of PR opportunities falling through the cracks. Plus, you gain a better sense of how to promote or respond in a way your audience will appreciate.

Now, let’s dive into some of the top public relations trends we’ve seen explode in the past few years.

In the not-so-distant past, businesses didn’t know how to effectively measure the impact of their PR strategies. Their online reputation was a bit of a mystery shrouded in guesswork and hunches. Brands would issue announcements, publish some press releases, and hope for the best.

Today, brands can and do expect more from their public relations team. The PR industry alone is expected to be worth $88 billion in 2020 — and $129 billion by 2025!

And yet, many marketers and PR pros still aren’t sure how their investments are paying off. With today’s analytics and PR reporting technology, data will play an increasingly essential role in PR strategies.

In 2025, tracking the impact of your public relations efforts with a data-driven PR strategy will be key. PR teams need, at a minimum, basic KPIs like brand awareness and favorability, social media engagement, and quality web traffic.

The need for good PR is increasing while head-counts in PR departments are decreasing. Having data and analytics to support your decisions and their results will help PR professionals appeal to the C-suite regarding job performance and resource requests.

What’s more, having data-backed insight into your PR strategies can help you see where and how you’re moving the needle. Use this data to adjust your approach so you can improve your PR over time.

Tip! Learn more about modernizing your PR reporting

More companies are doubling down on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, and for good reason. When employees can show up in a workplace where they can be their true selves, employees are more engaged, productive, and satisfied in their jobs.

Many companies see a DEI workplace as being a competitive advantage, especially during the ongoing Great Resignation. Companies that promote diversity and inclusion as part of their public relations tactics are not only appealing to customers, but also prospective employees.

However, no good deed goes unpunished. Recent reports note that the majority of companies are simply going through the motions of DEI and are falling short of creating a truly diversified, equitable work environment.

This is an excellent example of why a solid PR strategy is so important! When companies are truly invested in creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace, they can easily share the things they’re doing to uphold their DEI initiatives. Vague and generic statements are traded for action-packed evidence that shows instead of tells.

As more consumers and employees raise their expectations of brands to embrace DEI at work, PR teams can expect it to be a recurring theme in their PR campaigns.

Influencer marketing has been a central force in PR trends of the past several years, and 2025 will be no different. Influencers continue to crop up in every corner of the web, from micro-influencers on TikTok to influencers with millions of followers on Instagram. What's more, they're creating entry points into niches that might not yet be on your radar.

Micro-influencers have led companies to pull back on celebrity endorsements and mass media channels in favor of tapping into smaller niches. And since it works so well, PR campaigns will continue to lean on influencer promotions for brand growth.

An influencer can be just about anyone whose opinions are trusted. For example, a local radio DJ, podcaster, or online blogger or vlogger could be an influencer. These individuals may not have the name recognition or audience size of a celebrity. But they have enough credibility and followers to sway the opinions of those who are listening.

Finding the right influencer to work with can be tricky. Our social influencer marketing solution help brands identify, collaborate and pay influencers. 

In 2025, the PR aspect of using influencers will be on maintaining good relationships with existing influencers and connecting with new influencers. Interacting with influencers requires a unique approach, as influencers are usually not represented by agents, and they may not have established systems for brand partnerships. In many cases, influencers are busy professionals that may or may not be “full-time influencers.”

To fully leverage influencer marketing, PR teams need a good understanding of the influencer’s audience, niche, and content. These aspects go several layers deep and are full of nuances that can vary from one influencer to the next. Without learning about these nuances, you could end up doing more harm than good to your online reputation.

One way to avoid potentially damaging influencer experiences is to add dedicated influencer resources to your PR team. Someone who is well-versed in influencer campaigns and relationships can do your heavy lifting for the best results.

The concept of personalized marketing has spilled over into the PR world. In marketing, personalization serves to build customer loyalty and increase sales because it meets the customer wherever they are in their journey. The same can be said for personalized PR.

Tailoring PR pitches to individual journalists or influencers helps you create messages that speak directly to their interests. It steers away from one-size-fits-none pitches and instead presents an eye-catching idea that’s hard to miss. This helps to create instant trust and credibility when pitching new sources, and deepens the trust you already have with media outlets and professionals.

As a result, you have a much better chance of being published by the outlets or resources you target.

In the same vein as DEI and personalization, authenticity continues to shape the expectations of consumers and PR agencies alike. And we expect authenticity to remain a high priority.

Tip: Learn how to hire a PR agency and how to hire a marketing firm.

We’re seeing two key areas driving up the need for authenticity:

First is the growing use of AI technologies to create personalized digital experiences. While technology allows us to learn more about a target audience than ever before, many agree it lacks the special connection that only humans can create. As more marketers and PR pros are using technology to develop custom experiences, it’s essential to maintain the human element that makes personalization authentic.

Second, the pandemic led to a shift in content marketing, messaging, and branding. Fake news and misinformation abounded, leaving consumers wary of whom to trust.

Seemingly overnight, consumers increased their expectations of the companies they do business with. They expect brands to walk the talk, be transparent about ethics and values, and go beyond “marketing speak.” Authenticity is the intersection of these things. It’s no longer enough to spew generic phrases like “We’re in this together,” but rather back up your statements with actions.

The bottom line: people have started to re-evaluate what’s important to them. They’re more discerning over how they use their time, which brands they engage with, and how they’re spending money.

Consumers continue to be less forgiving and more demanding. Brands need to be prepared to address this “new normal” by remaining authentic at every turn.

Continuing in that vein, PR firms should be thinking more and more along the lines of purpose-driven communication. Companies today are judged not only by their products and services but also by their values and responses to societal and environmental issues. 

To navigate an increasingly complex landscape of global conflicts and crises, PR professionals must craft purpose-driven strategies rooted in empathy and integrity. They should focus on fostering authentic communication with stakeholders, maintaining composure under pressure, and prioritize thoughtful, agile planning that aligns with organizational values.

With the advent of AI in things like search results, and the outputs from services like ChatGPT, many companies are realizing the value of original thought-leadership. Industry leading thought leadership content can help you stand out and, if written strategically, can be harder for AI to replicate. It's also very promotable from a PR standpoint, especially if written by (or ghost-written for) an executive. 

Thought leadership can take the form of blog posts, guides, or white-papers, but it can also come from LinkedIn posts. If your CEO or another prominent person at your company has a large and engaged following on LinkedIn, then their posts will naturally get a lot of attention. 

If they are currently struggling to build an audience, consider making it part of your PR strategy for 2025 to promote them and get their name out there in a positive light. You could engage influencers or podcasts for interviews or get a quote in a respected publication to help establish their name and encourage their socials to grow.

The line between PR and marketing will continue to blur in the coming years, even more than it already has. Given this, teams will need to keep refining their roles, processes, and project leads to minimize confusion and maximize ROI. 

Lack of internal communication can have dire consequences — for example if the marketing team is handling social, but the PR team has not communicated the embargo dates, you could end up with an announcement going early. 

Avoid these kinds of crises by being intentional with how you write your communications plan for each campaign, so that everyone knows what aspect they're responsible for. 

As we say goodbye to 2024 and welcome 2025, these top PR trends can help to guide your strategy. And so can Meltwater! Reach out today to discover more about Meltwater’s media monitoring solution and PR tools to learn how we can set you up for success in the new year and beyond.

8 PR Trends Your Brand Should Be Dominating in 2025

Getting your brand noticed and not just seen is arguably becoming harder. The bar to entry for new brands is lowering, thanks to digital technology and talent access across borders. 

Consumers are constantly bombarded with advertising messages—as many as 10,000 ad impressions per day—which leads to overstimulation and a reluctance to retain information. But a strong PR campaign can be game-changing for brands that want to break through the noise and be remembered. 

Unlike traditional advertising or marketing, a PR campaign is designed simply to get people talking. It’s a way to put your brand in the spotlight, drum up some press, and make a lasting impression on your audience. 

What exactly goes into a great PR campaign? Let’s look at some specifics as well as some of the best recent PR campaign examples from 2024.

Why Should Campaigns Be Part of Your PR Strategy?

Let’s start with a definition. A PR campaign is a series of planned activities designed to give a company or brand publicity. Most PR campaigns have specific business goals, such as driving website traffic, getting a new product noticed, or drawing attention to a cause. Activities are carried out in a specific time frame relevant to the overarching goal. 

A successful PR campaign hinges on a strong communication strategy. Create the right message for your intended audience. Choose the right channels for your message. Know who else might be listening (e.g., your competitors). With a good communication plan as your foundation, your brand can start to make a positive connection with the public.

Tip: Want to learn how to create a PR campaign? This guide will help.

In a world driven by sales messaging and calls to action, your public relations strategy can be a breath of fresh air for consumers. The brand isn’t asking for anything in return from the public. Instead, a PR campaign gives the audience a chance to learn more about the brand without marketing or sales pressure.

Taking this pressure away allows consumers to lower their guard and be more receptive to your company. A well-designed campaign breaks through their internal “ad blockers.” Campaigns aren’t just about the products or services you sell, but rather your brand identity.

As a result of a great PR campaign, brands can establish greater credibility with their audiences and build stronger media relations. Brand identities become stronger and more memorable. And in many cases, sales naturally follow.

TIP: Learn about the differences between marketing and PR.

We have published a dedicated blog telling you how to create a PR campaign, but in general, they work like this:

Every PR strategy begins with a goal. Maybe you want to call attention to a new product or a rebrand. Or maybe you want to put your brand in a positive light after receiving some negative publicity. Whatever your goal, start your PR campaign with a goal and work backward to decide the best approach for sharing your message.

Some PR campaigns consist of nothing more than a well-written press release distributed on large media networks — for example via our press distribution service. News media outlets, blogs, and other publishers may pick up the press release and share it on their channels. 

You can share the same press release on your channels, too, such as a website, blog, email subscriber list, or social media. 

Or, you might choose to launch a solely social PR strategy. Social media PR targets your social audiences and relies on likes, shares, and comments to help you spread the word. You can also pay for ads to expand your PR campaign’s reach.

Other campaigns take publicity to new heights. For example, Red Bull’s New Moon event showed wingsuit-clad stuntmen descending from the sky with sparklers, creating the image that UFOs were landing on Earth. In the UK, a nude art installation promoted Sky Arts and its milestone of becoming a free-to-air television channel.

Whether a written press release or a live publicity stunt, a PR campaign’s role remains the same: to intentionally attract attention from an audience to promote a brand (and ideally receive some sort of response).

For help planning, executing, and measuring the impact of a PR campaign while minimizing their time and cost investment, get in touch to learn more about Meltwater's media database and PR reporting.

The best PR campaigns are those where creativity knows no bounds. Best of all, any brand can benefit from a little PR, whether you’re executing a local campaign or running a national promotion.

Let’s look at 10 brands that have nailed the art of PR in 2024.

Dove doesn’t shy away from tough topics like body positivity, but their Super Bowl LVIII commercial takes a slightly different approach. Set to the song “Hard Knock Life,” it opens with young girls taking hard hits or meeting challenges in sporting events. 

It takes a tough cookie to stay in the game, but Dove shines a light on what makes most girls quit sports — and it’s not the risk of injury.

The ad cuts to a girl standing in front of a mirror, examining her reflection self-consciously. Low body positivity can be more brutal than any fall, scrape, scratch, or hit. The brand shares that 45% of females quit sports before the age of 14 and that a little body positivity can go a long way toward keeping them in the game.

The iconic hamburger menu that has taken over websites got a new twist from Oreo, which turned the three lines into a rendition of its famous cookie. The new Oreo Menu received its own website to promote the change. 

To encourage users to visit the site (and let the idea catch on), the brand made the menu clickable — and all the displayed text could be used as promo codes to score discounts on Oreo cookies. It’s a great way to get people thinking about Oreos as they’re casually browsing the web. (Those hamburger menus are everywhere!).

3. Burger King’s Million Dollar Whopper

Getting input from fans is one way to come up with a new flavor or menu item. But Burger King took this idea further by asking fans to reinvent the Whopper — with visuals.

Using BK’s own AI platform, customers could create custom virtual Whoppers with their favorite toppings. The platform would create an image of their idea, giving Burger King tons of user-generated content for their marketing. 

True to the campaign name, one lucky winner will be one million dollars richer, not to mention they’ll have bragging rights in BK’s history books for creating a new version of the iconic burger.

4. Tony’s Chocolonely’s Living Income Campaign

Dutch chocolate company Tony’s Chocolonely calls attention to subpar cocoa farming standards with its redesigned packaging that looks strikingly similar to other popular chocolate brands. It wasn’t by accident, either. 

Tony’s wanted to bring attention to other chocolate companies that use unfair, unsustainable, and unethical sourcing as an attempt to show why they’re different.

This idea of raising the (chocolate) bar offers a creative take on brand differentiation. Customers know which brands Tony’s is parodying, making them stand out as brands that need to re-examine their cocoa sourcing.

Yes, it’s an advertisement. But in true Apple fashion, this promotion is mixed with a heavy dose of PR, emotion, and so much more. In case you haven’t seen it, the “story” shows a dad and his daughter at Christmas as she opens a brand new guitar. A flashback of a bygone Christmas paints a similar scene. 

The muffled sound feels like part of the act — until dad pops in a set of new Apple AirPods Pro 2, which now includes a hearing aid feature.

The message is clear: AirPods are so much more than headphones. And Apple is so much more than a tech company. This PR/ad combo promotes the brand as a leader in innovation, showing its products have the potential to enhance the quality of life of its customers.

6. California Pizza Kitchen’s Mac and Cheese Promo

Even multi-billion dollar companies make mistakes, and fans don’t hesitate to share those blunders with the world. So when one irate customer of California Pizza Kitchen went viral for showing the lack of “mac” in their mac and cheese, the brand took it in stride with a hilarious response.

After making it right with the customer in the form of free mac and cheese and pizza for a year, CPK uploaded a TikTok video response to help others who might experience the same crisis. They offered a humorous take on the situation while showing they do listen to their customers and care about their experiences.

McDonald’s is a global love language, one that has captured the hearts of billions of people to the point where it’s become part of their culture. Despite its universal appeal, McDonald’s also recognizes the value of segmentation, which is why it decided to focus on its Manga-loving audience in a recent campaign.

The flipped “M” in “McDonald’s” first appeared in the manga series Cat’s Eye 39 years ago (an episode called “A Mystery for Winter Night”). Manga’s growth in popularity sparked the idea for McDonald’s to temporarily become WcDonald’s in 30 markets, which also included a few new items like the Savory Chili WcDonald’s Sauce.

At a time when public trust in science and medicine is low, long-standing pharmaceutical company Pfizer aimed to win them back. It debuted its commercial during Super Bowl LVIII, set to the tune of Queen’s hit song, Don’t Stop Me Now.

Throughout the commercial, we see historical figures, scientists, and medical experts who forever changed medicine and healthcare. These same people were once thought to be crazy, unsuccessful, or downright wrong. 

The ad is a subtle reminder that science and medicine are constantly evolving. Today’s mystery may become a scientific fact in the near future.

Unlike many toys that come with age guidelines, LEGO is a brand that knows no age limit. You’re never too old to play, and the brand stays true to this belief in its Play is Your Superpower campaign. 

The brand is hoping to change the narrative by creating opportunities around the world for families to play together. Experiences include a massive multi-floor playable library in China, a restaurant-themed pop-up event in Japan, a dance studio experience in Australia, and an exhibit at Berlin’s Festival of Lights, among others. 

The campaign also has a dedicated page on the Lego website, which features campaign-related content and info on the global events.

Social listening is a big part of public relations. It shows you’re not only listening to your customers’ feedback, but also creates opportunities for two-way communication and proactive problem solving. 

Trendy cup maker Stanley didn’t hesitate to seize a moment at the end of 2023, when it went viral based on a customer’s misfortune.

After a Stanley cup user’s car caught on fire, she created a TikTok video highlighting the damage to her car and her beloved Stanley cup, then revealed that her cup still had ice in it! It was a bold testament to the quality of the product, and Stanley repaid her in the form of a new cup — and a new car.

How will you create your next PR campaign? Meltwater can help you shine when you need it most. Our PR strategy tools and expertise help you create and manage your PR campaigns from end to end.

Learn more when you request a demo by filling out the form below!

10 of the Best PR Campaigns of 2024

Journalists give you a direct connection to major media outlets, helping you promote your business, build credibility, and get in front of a bigger audience. But first, you need to know how to find a reporter — and then, you need to know how to turn their heads to get what you want.

Knowing how to contact journalists is an in-demand skill. It takes time, effort, and know-how to find journalists in your niche and craft a pitch that gets read. Whether you work for a public relations/PR agency or are trying independently to get your brand some media exposure, there are ways to find journalist contact information yourself and be on your way to media stardom.

Let’s explore the tools and tips you need.

Understanding the Media Landscape for Journalists

Tips for Leveraging Journalist and Media Contacts

The media ecosystem is vast, especially in our digital climate, where new platforms emerge quickly and often. Outlets like magazines, blogs, podcasts, social media influencers, and large publications each offer a unique way to reach your audience, and each serves a different purpose. 

It’s essential to know the nuances of the media landscape so you can find reporters and create effective pitches they’re sure to respond to.

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